Soccer notebook: TAPPS playoffs in full swing

While the UIL season is hitting its stride in district play, the TAPPS playoffs have already kicked off, with several area teams chasing state title dreams.

Boys

In Division I, Fort Worth Nolan Catholic (11-7-1) took a 1-0 win over Houston St. Pius X (7-8-6) in a bi-district match Tuesday. Next up for the Vikings is a date with Brownsville St. Joseph (17-5-1) on Saturday in the area round.

In Division II, Grapevine Faith (11-4-2) followed its 3-0 bi-district win over Tyler Grace Community (11-3) with a 2-1 area victory against Austin St. Michael’s (12-5-1). The Lions move into the regional round Saturday against Garland Brighter Horizons (13-3), a 4-1 winner over Fort Worth Southwest Christian (9-5-1) on Tuesday.

Colleyville Covenant (12-4) earned a bye in the bi-district round but lost Tuesday in the area round to Bullard Brook Hill (11-8).

In Division III, Fort Worth Temple Christian (11-1-1) cruised into the regional round with a 3-0 win over McKinney Christian (5-4-1) on Tuesday. Fort Worth Lake Country also advanced to the regional round with a 4-0 shutout of Bryan Brazos Christian (10-3).

Temple Christian will face Austin Hill Country Christian (11-0), while Lake Country gets Dallas Covenant (10-3), both on Saturday. Winners will face each other in the state semifinals on Feb. 23.

Girls

In Division I, Nolan Catholic (19-10-2) roared to a 5-0 win over Beaumont Kelly (14-9-5) in bi-district Wednesday, setting up a regional game against San Antonio Incarnate Word (6-6-4) at noon Saturday at Waco ISD Stadium.

In Division II, Grapevine Faith (9-0) advanced to the regional round with a 4-1 win against Austin Hyde Park (16-6) on Tuesday. Faith will face Austin St. Michael’s (10-7) on Saturday.

Colleyville Covenant (12-11-1) was eliminated in the area round 8-1 by Tyler Grace Community (11-1). Fort Worth Southwest Christian (6-9) lost in the bi-district round 4-0 to Tyler All Saints (13-3-1).

Youth movement

With more than half his starting lineup either freshmen or sophomores, Birdville girls coach Eddie Brown was cautiously optimistic heading into the season.

“We had a lot of questions marks when we started the season, but we also knew we had a good group of kids coming up,” he said.

His young Hawks are proving they can already fly, jumping out to an 8-2-5 overall record and a 5-1 mark after the first round of District 6-5A play. That includes a victory against Grapevine, which reached the state semifinals a year ago.

“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised,” Brown said. “Maybe pleasantly surprised.”

Fresh faces like Caroline Ruiz and Makayla Snow have jumped in and secured the defensive back line. Brown calls Ruiz a tenacious center back while asserting that Snow has played “out of her mind” at left back.

Snow’s twin sister, Michele, shares minutes in goal for the Hawks. Another freshman, Jaclyn Beeter, plays a holding central midfield role, and is getting back to full speed after battling injury.

But it isn’t just the freshmen who are having an impact, Brown notes.

“I shouldn’t discount the fact that some of our older kids have stepped up,” he said.

A case in point is sophomore Madi Garza, who is still returning to full speed after a knee injury. Garza has slowly increased her minutes over the course of the season, and has nine of her 10 goals in the past six games.

If Brown has one complaint, it’s that the team doesn’t bring the same intensity to every match, but he chalks that up to the team’s youth.

Birdville has a bye this week before taking on Fort Worth Eastern Hills on Tuesday.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Soccer notebook: TAPPS playoffs in full swing."