Wylie East senior Arianna Darquea (15) scored a goal with 17 minutes remaining in the second half of last Friday’s 1-0 win over Magnolia in the Region II-6A Division II semifinals. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By David Wolman
WACO – Once Wylie East senior Arianna Darquea kicked the ball towards the Magnolia goalie, everything began to move in slow motion for her.
After striking the ball off her right foot to create separation from a Lady Bulldog defender, she fired a shot from 28 yards away. The ball bounced underneath the hands of the goalkeeper and into the back of the net for a goal with 17:14 remaining in the second half.
The goal by Darquea held up as the game-winner in a 1-0 victory for the Lady Raiders in a Class 6A Division I Region II-6A semifinal from Waco ISD Stadium last Friday.
“I saw that it was a 1 v 1 and I took my time and got around her,” Darquea said. “I shot it, and it was like slow motion and was hoping to see it go in. I’m glad that it went in.”
The goal was the ninth of the season for Darquea and her first of the postseason. But the scores have been of the timely variety. She found the back of the net in a 2-0 win over then-previously unbeaten Wylie in the final game of the regular season on March 14.
“For four years, she’s been clutch,” said Kody Christensen, Wylie East head coach. “She’s been someone that has been a starter for three years in a row and someone that takes pride in what she does.”
After Magnolia spent the first five minutes of the game playing exclusively in Wylie East’s end of the field, the Lady Raiders settled in nicely, using several counterattacks to generate multiple scoring chances.
Although neither team was able to find the back of the net during the first half, Christensen was still wanting his Lady Raiders to elevate their game, including on the offensive end. He pleaded with his players during his halftime speech to pass the ball up the field quicker and look for the primary options on offense instead of settling for only the secondary options.
What followed was a dominant second half in which the Lady Raiders rarely allowed the speed of the Lady Bulldog forwards to penetrate through their back line.
“Much better,” Christensen said. “We were on our heels in the first half. Our midfielders had too many touches on the ball and tried to play too much instead of playing off instinct and having the feel of the game. In the second half, they received the ball and were looking to distribute and that allowed our defense to not have as much pressure on them.”
Because of Wylie East’s lockdown defense and Darquea’s goal with 17 minutes to go in regulation, the Lady Raiders advanced to the regional final for the third consecutive season. Wylie East (19-2-1) will play Forney (22-1) in the Region II-6A Division II final, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night from Royse City ISD Stadium.
Wylie East was in search of its first state semifinal berth since 2023 and fourth overall in program history.
“Last year, we came short unfortunately, in PKs,” Darquea said. “If we play like we did in the second half today, we could put it on (Forney).”
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