Chaps, Lady Chaps set sights on statebound season
Soccer season is well on its way for the Aubrey Lady Chaps and Chaparrals, with both teams opening their preseasons with scrimmages last week.
The Lady Chaps got things rolling with a 4-2 win over the Denton Ryan Raiders on Dec. 12.
“We came out strong and played quite well for our first scrimmage,” said Kelli Baker, Aubrey head girls soccer coach. “We still have some things to work on. We had some misplaced passes and stuff like that, but we picked up right where we left off last year, making it to the state semifinals, which is pretty easy to do when you're bringing back nine starters.”
The first goal of the year for the Lady Chaps was scored by captain Brynnlee Bohannon with the assist from her sister Blair Bohannon.
Landry Gannon added the second goal a few minutes later on an assist from Averie Santos.
The Lady Chaps' third goal was scored by Alexis Quinn, who tapped in a rebound after a shot by Blair, giving Aubrey a 3-0 lead at the end of the first half.
The Lady Chaps continued to roll in the second half, with Daniella Dominic-Etuk finding the back of the net in the first few minutes, putting Aubrey up 4-0.
The Lady Raiders scored two late goals, but Aubrey held on to take the 4-2 win.
The Lady Chaps followed their win over Denton Ryan with a 7-2 win over the Decatur Eaglettes on Tuesday evening.
The Lady Chaps finished last season as one of the best teams in the state, but Baker emphasized that the team is focused on the season one game at a time.
“The experts out there want to rank us high and tell us how amazing and talented we are, and I tell the girls every day we're the only ones that can get in our own way,” he said. “If we show up mentally every day and work hard, then there's not a lot of teams in our district or in the state that can beat us … but we’re really just trying to take each week game by game.”
On the boys’ side, the Chaps opened their preseason Dec. 13 at a scrimmage tournament in Sulphur Springs, with two wins—4-0 over Tyler Chapel Hill and 2-1 over North Dallas—and tied with Sulphur Springs 1-1.
The Chaps followed their appearance in Sulphur Springs with a 3-3 tie against Dallas Pinkston on Tuesday night.
“We started out very strong and came out hot, but we're a very young team,” said James Dumond, Aubrey head boys soccer coach. “They scored one on us, and we started doubting ourselves a little bit. They scored another one on us, and we got tight and started playing out of our element due to our inexperience, but we'll get back on the horse and practice and correct things tomorrow.”
Despite the up-anddown start in the preseason, Dumond said he’s excited to see how the team continues to grow as the Chaps’ soccer program enters year four.
“We have good chemistry, and the guys work extremely hard,” he said. “We’re less technically skilled because we’re young, but we have more of a blue-collar teamwork attitude, and it’s all coming together well. … We're just focused on playing solid fundamental soccer, growing as a young team, and just being competitive in the toughest district in the state of Texas for 4A.”
The Lady Chaps were scheduled to return to the pitch against the Abilene Eagles at 7 p.m. on Thursday, while the Chaps will return to the field to face the Kilgore Bulldogs at 1:15 p.m. Dec. 30.
The results of the Lady Chaps’ scrimmage with the Abilene Eagles were not available by press time.
