The Frenship Girls Soccer Team is unstoppable! After two exciting games at Area and Regional Quarterfinal rounds, the team is feeling very confident.
In the Area Playoff round, the Tigers played the Keller Indians. It was a very exciting matchup with the Tigers going 1-1 into overtime. The first goal scored by the Tigers was completed by Mia Chambliss with an assist from Zeta McDannels. The Tigers then moved into an overtime shootout, taking down the Indians 4-2 in penalty kicks. The goals were scored by Mia Chambliss, Jaycee Garza, Zeta McDannels, and Callaway Scott.
Head Girls Soccer Coach, Lauren Denning shares that this is the farthest that she has made it in her Frenship Coaching history and even as a player back in high school. Advancing to Area and winning the game brings her immense pride and joy.
“I just keep thinking about how proud I am. To be able to watch these girls go through games where everything is on the line and to watch them succeed together as a group after working that hard together, there is just so much pride in who they are,” said Coach Denning.
Coach Denning shared that there were several different emotions on the field when the Tigers realized that they secured the Area Championship.
“The Area round was a crazy game. We truly believed that we held the better chances on goal and did really well to take away their attacking threats,” said Coach Denning. “We had a big controversy with less than 2 minutes left in OT where we scored a goal that then got taken away. We went from celebrating basically a game winning goal, to almost immediately having to take penalty kicks. It was one of the craziest sequences of soccer I’ve ever been a part of. But the most impressive thing was watching my team come together and just deal with it. They got together, talked about what we were about to do, and went out and dominated it. It was phenomenal to watch.”
The Regional Quarterfinal Round of the Playoffs continued to bring excitement and challenges for the Tigers. The game score was 0-0 through regulation and in overtime the Tigers won the penalty kick shootout, 4-3 with goalie Bella Medrano making 2 saves. The penalty kicks were made by Mia Chambliss, Zeta McDannels, Jaycee Garza, and Graham Peeples.
“The energy at that 3rd round Regional quarterfinal game was intense. Both teams were very athletic and quick. It was a very back and forth game. I thought we held better possession in the midfield, but they’ve got some very dangerous attackers that were a threat. Our defense played awesomely. We limited their chances and frustrated their forwards. We had several chances but couldn’t put one away. As the game progressed and it looked like Overtime was coming, I felt our girls kick in to another gear. Once PKs came up, our girls came off the field and were ready. We had done this before, and we knew what to do. They stepped up and delivered and then Bella came up huge again with 2 big saves,” said Coach Denning.
Coach Denning believes that Frenship Girls Soccer is set apart from the rest of the competition.
"Geography sets us apart for one. Every other team in this regional tournament is 20 minutes away from the stadium, while we are 6 hours away. I think we choose to see it as a benefit. We’re used to being the West Texas kids that have to travel for soccer. We have that chip on our shoulder or that extra grit that gives us an advantage against teams that don’t have to deal with some of the stuff we do,” said Coach Denning.
The Tigers are currently competing in the Regional Tournament round of the playoffs against Flower Mound Marcus. Stay tuned for the results.
“It just comes down to how hard we can continue to work for each other. None of the games left will be easy. They will be 80 minutes of focusing on 1 minute at a time. I think if we can do that and continue to work for each other, then we can continue to do amazing things together,” said Coach Denning.
Good luck, Frenship Girls Soccer!
Photo by: Camden Reese and HUB City Preps