The Aubrey Lady Chaparrals soccer season came to a close with a 4-1 win over the Henderson Lady Lions on March 27 and a 3-2 loss to the Sunnyvale Lady Raiders on Tuesday night.
The Lady Chaps controlled the regional semifinal matchup against the Lady Lions on a wet and windy night at Better Life Stadium at North Forney High School, taking the lead and never looking back.
“It was a good win,” said Kelli Baker, Aubrey head girls soccer coach. “Everyone stepped up and played really well, and we got some people back from injuries, which helped out a ton, and the wind and the rain in the second half also helped us out. We didn’t have to work as hard with the wind at our back, but the first half was mental, and it was really a test of the back lines and the goalkeeper’s mental fortitude of judging the ball in the wind and making sure we didn’t give up.”
Brynnlee Bohanon connected with Landry Gannon with a long pass over the Lady Lions’ defense for the Lady Chaps’ first goal of the night and Gannon’s 60th goal of the season, putting Aubrey up 1-0.
After Gannon’s goal, the two teams continued to trade scoreless possessions for the remainder of the first half, with the Lady Chaps holding the slight edge as the game entered halftime.
Gannon would open the second half with her second goal of the night off an assist from Daniella Dominic-Etuk, extending Aubrey’s lead to 2-0.
The Lady Lions scored their first point midway through the second half, making it a one-score match at 2-1, but the Lady Chaps answered a few minutes later when Brynnlee connected with Daniella for Aubrey’s third goal of the night.
Gannon sealed the win with her third goal of the game on a penalty kick, making the final score 4-1.
Gannon, who completed her second hat trick in as many games, spoke highly of how the Lady Chaps played in the win.
“It’s a full team effort from our goalie to our forwards,” she said. “It starts with the defense winning the ball, and with us being well bonded, we can connect on our combination plays and finish in the back of the net. I’d also like to give credit to Coach Baker because a lot of our practices are focused on our runs offensively and finishing.”
Baker highlighted the Lady Chaps’ defense, which allowed one goal in Aubrey’s first three playoff matches.
“We had to shuffle some people around because of injuries, but it’s a carryover from the regular season; the back line has been solid,” he said. “… The center back pairing of Laurelai [Baker] and Jordin [Gomez] has played almost two full seasons together; Lily Stewart has played two full seasons out there, and we have a freshman, Payton Canterbury, that we stuck out there tonight to play left back, and she stepped up and played great.”
Another bright spot for the Lady Chaps defense is sophomore goalkeeper Gabriella Dominic-Etuk, who stepped in after starting goalkeeper Lexis Jones went down with a knee injury early in the bi-district match with Caddo Mills on March 20.
“I hadn’t played in a while, and I was not expecting to go in [during] the whole playoffs, so it was scary and there was a lot of pressure, but I worked hard in practice, and my teammates encouraged me and helped me play well,” she said.
Aubrey met the Sunnyvale Lady Raiders in the regional finals at Buddy Echols Field at Coppell High School on Tuesday night, with the winner earning a spot in the 4A State Tournament.
The Lady Chaps led most of the match, finding themselves up 2-1 with under 20 minutes left in the second half, but couldn’t stave off the Lady Raiders, who scored two late goals to take the regional championship 3-2.
“We’ve been hit with the injury bug, … so our bench was really short last night, and [Sunnyvale] is a well-coached team,” Baker said. “They came out with a great game plan to neutralize Landry. They double- and triple-teamed her and didn’t allow her to get loose, which frustrated her a little bit, and at the end one of my midfielders went down and had to come out for the last four or five minutes, and we held on hoping for overtime, but we needed that whistle to come 20 seconds earlier.”
Despite the loss, Baker said he was proud of the resilience his team showed during the season.
“They really fought through adversity this year,” he said. “We’ve had all kinds of ups and downs all season, and they rose to the challenge on every occasion, and last night I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Everybody left everything on the field.”
Baker also thanked the Lady Chaps’ seniors, the first 4-year members of Aubrey’s girls soccer program, his parents, and the Aubrey administration and athletic staff for their support.
