Taking the trophy

Last weekend, the Lady Tiger soccer team kicked off the season with a bang. They arrived in Palestine, Texas ready to show their skills in a pre-district tournament. Winning their first game with a shutout, the girls were ready to dominate.

“This tournament was a great start to the season,” coach Dustin Holly said. “It had some good East Texas teams in it, and it was good to get five games in three days. After watching us during our scrimmages, I knew we had a good chance of doing well.”

A weekend tournament with one to two games a day allowed the girls to see how strong they are together and how well they work as a team.

“The most difficult part of the tournament was getting back to the hotel late and having to wake up the next morning to play two games,” senior co-captain Kelsi Allen said. “Then we had to do the same thing the next morning. Even though it was raining and like 20 degrees, we pushed through it and came out undefeated. It was mentally and physically exhausting, but it was all worth it.”

The girls have been preparing for the start of the season since November. Despite such success in the tournament, winning the games with scores of 5-0, 2-0, 5-0, 2-2 and taking the championship with a score of 5-0, the team is still going to have to work hard in order to keep up the progress.

“I think [the tournament] has really helped us see our strengths and weaknesses right now as a team,” Holly said.  “The team is going to have to remember what got them to this point, and keep working hard. They got to see firsthand in our first eight games just how much this work has paid off. If we can keep our head right, not get so tied up in our successes, and keep working hard there is no telling where this team will end up.”

With every new season comes new teammates. This year, an additional amount of freshman girls have been added to the varsity team.

“It is a really good experience to be on varsity as a freshman,” freshman Reagan Sandford said. “We all get along with the older girls really well. The tournament was fun, and it was a great way to start off the season.”

After such an outstanding win, the Lady Tigers are ready to start the season in full force.

“[During the tournament] we got to bond as a team, and it helped us to develop closer friendships with each other,” Allen said. “Working hard in practice and putting in 100 percent in every game will help us go far in the long run.”