Grapevine and Kennedale girls advance to UIL state soccer
Shutout wins Saturday in their respective soccer regional finals mean the Grapevine and Kennedale girls have qualified for the UIL state tournament Wednesday through Saturday in Georgetown.
Grapevine and Kennedale also advanced to state last year, with Kennedale winning the Class 4A title. State tournament pairings will be announced by the UIL on Sunday.
At Midland Saturday, the Arlington Martin girls fell, 1-0, to Flower Mound in the 6A Region I final.
Kennedale 4, Abilene Wylie 0
Why Kennedale won: The Wildcats got off 16 shots, seven on goal, and scored two goals in each half to defeat Abilene Wyile 4-0 in the Class 4A Region I girls final at Kennedale High School.
Key players: Freshman Eryka McIntyre scored twice, both coming on free kicks. Her first came off the foot of SMU signee, senior Allie Thornton for the Wildcats’ second goal in the 22nd minute and her second came from 23 yards out for the 4-0 lead in the 70th minute. Thornton drilled her 40th goal of the year and 131st of her career off a header from senior Abby Olmos in the eighth minute and Olmos added her second assist on a Cara Hunt goal, her 19th, in the 52nd minute. Junior goalkeeper Sara Calzada recorded her 16th shutout.
Key stats: Kennedale looks to defend its UIL 4A state title with the semifinals starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Georgetown High School.
Records: Kennedale 25-2-0; Wylie 22-5-0.
Grapevine 1, Wichita Falls Rider 0
Why Grapevine won: Ashton Wright scored the only goal in the 50th minute, and the Mustangs stayed on the attack for much of the final 30 minutes to earn their second straight Class 5A Region I title, beating Wichita Falls Rider at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls.
Key players: Grapevine sophomore Sophia Smith was the most active player, creating three early shots, which were saved by Rider goalkeeper Alycia Shifflett, and Smith stayed on the field all 80 minutes in a back-to-back situation.
She also hit the post late, trying for an insurance goal.
Key stat: The Mustangs didn’t score at least three goals for the first time in the postseason. But senior keeper Katy Hutson led a Grapevine defense that posted its fourth consecutive shutout. She had five saves and also came off her line frequently with the defense playing flat in the back to serve as her own sweeper.
Records: Grapevine 19-6-3, Rider 22-4-3.
Flower Mound 1, Arlington Martin 0 OT
Why Flower Mound won: Elena Reyna’s goal with 1:20 left in the first overtime period proved to be enough as the Jaguars denied Arlington Martin 1-0 in the Class 6A Region I girls final at Midland.
Key players: Senior goalkeeper Madeline Wasden was again huge for Martin, recording one save at the 36th minute mark as well as three key saves down the stretch to force overtime. Junior foward Ashton Buchhorn’s goal-line defensive header in the second half also denied a Flower Mound goal.
Key stats: The Jaguars, the fourth seed from District 6-6A, beat three No. 1 seeds to make its first UIL state soccer tournament in program history. The Lewisville ISD school opened in 1999.
Records: Flower Mound 15-3-6, Martin 22-4-1.
Correspondent Andy Newberry contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Grapevine and Kennedale girls advance to UIL state soccer."