The Lady Tigers soccer season ended on Friday, March 24 with a tough loss in the first round of playoffs. Texas fell 3-0 to Poteet High School in Mesquite. With an overall season record of 16-7-2 the team finished third in district.

“Our season started off like it did last year,” sophomore Sarah Jane Paddock said. “In the first half of district we won almost all of our games. We were invincible or so we thought. But during the second half of the season, we lost more than we won. The tables had turned. Although we made it into playoffs, we lost first round.”

In addition to the team performing better than last year, the girls felt like this year had a higher functioning team based on different merits.

“This season has been completely different than ones in the past, and it’s not because of how we played,” sophomore Grace McGuire said. “This year we bonded, we had team dinners, did yoga together and all went to the movies together during a tournament. Our chemistry is what kept our team strong throughout the season, even through the tough losses.”

As adversity faced the team on and off the field, they were able to work together and communicate, which they attribute to the sense of trust they built in preseason.

“The season definitely had it’s ups and down,” junior Anna Morgan said. “We started off in a strong winning streak to the point we had high hopes of winning the district, but halfway through district we started to go downhill, partly because injuries and filling in open positions. Even through all the obstacles we faced this year, our team still managed to stay close and committed no matter how rough things got. In the end, I’m really proud of our season and how our team stayed together through it all. We came out as third in district and lost in the first round of playoffs but I believe this season was a great one.”

The Lady Tigers are only losing two seniors, so the core group of players will remain next year.

“We had a rough season last year but we not only pushed past that, we grew so much as a family,” junior Jillian Ross said. “We worked so hard to get where we were during season and we did well. I am just looking forward to forming closer bonds with these girls and doing even better next season.”

The Lady Tigers have high expectations for next year, believing that, thanks to the bonds formed this year and being forced to persevere through another hard postseason loss, they’ve gotten stronger, and will have a real chance to go far next season.

“I’m so grateful that I got to spend my first season with a team who helped me become a better person and soccer player and provided me with great memories along the way,” freshman Ariel Hekier said.