Wylie sophomore Kennedy Butler has a step on a Duncanville defender as she dribbles the ball up the field at Forney’s City Bank Stadium on Wednesday, March 26. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
FORNEY – Given the defensive efficiency of the Duncanville and Wylie girls’ soccer teams over the course of the season, it didn’t come as a surprise that goals were hard to come by during their Class 6A Division I area-round playoff game.
Wylie allowed just five goals all season, while Duncanville had conceded three goals over its last 17 games and just seven over the course of their 21-game schedule.
One shot was all that it took to decide the March 26 game. Unfortunately for Wylie, Duncanville was the only team that could find the back of the net. Lady Panther junior forward Kyla Dawn, a University of Kentucky commit, scored the game-winner in the 45th minute, and the tally held up for Duncanville in a 1-0 win from City Bank Stadium.
“I knew that it was going to be a barn burner, a very close game, a defensive game from the very beginning,” said Chris Bezner, Wylie head coach. “We did a really good job defensively. We stuck to our game plan. We held them out of the net forever. But they just hit a great shot. Kudos to Duncanville. They came out and played a great game. We just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
The game was scheduled to play be played March 25 at Bishop Lynch’s Roffino Stadium. But the game was postponed until the following day because of lightning in the area and moved to Forney.
Wylie struggled to get out of its own end of the field to begin the game, but the Lady Pirates settled in a short time later.
Sophomore Marinn Cameron had the best offensive chance for Wylie in the first half on a partial breakaway, but Duncanville’s defense got back in time to prevent Cameron from dribbling to the net.
Duncanville nearly got on the board with nine minutes left in the first half.
A defensive breakdown by Wylie allowed multiple Duncanville forwards to create a numbers advantage in front of Lady Pirates junior goalkeeper Melissa Gonzalez. But Gonzalez, who’s contributed big play after big play throughout the course of the season, made the initial save. Duncanville was stopped point blank by Gonzalez on the rebound attempt.
“That was huge, a big momentum push for us,” Bezner said. “We got disorganized on that play on our back line. She came in and made a huge save and came back and finished it with that huge second save.”
There wasn’t much that Gonzalez could do to stop the only goal of the game.
Dawn dribbled up the right side of the field and blasted a shot into the top left corner of the net in the 45th minute for a 1-0 Duncanville lead.
“No one’s making that save,” Bezner said. “With the way that she hit it off her right foot, I don’t know how it went in. It was just a perfect shot.”
Dawn’s goal came moments after Wylie was unable to convert a couple of corner kicks for goals. Junior Taylor Kelly delivered a perfect service into the box, but the ensuing header from Lady Pirates sophomore Kennedy Butler was redirected wide of the left post.
The Lady Pirates had several chances to tie the score in the game’s final five minutes, but they were unable to record the equalizer.
Overall, it was a successful season for Wylie. The Lady Pirates won the District 9-6A title and finished with a 19-2 overall record. And with Wylie losing only four seniors to graduation, the Lady Pirates are built for another playoff run next season.
“It was just a mindset from all of the players,” Bezner said. “They built around the theme of us being ‘DFFRNT’ and doing different things to get a different result. They worked really, really hard. They grew a lot, from finishing third in our district last year to district champs this year. They have a lot to be proud of.”
0 Comments