The playoffs are tense, grueling, and by far the best time of the year in high school sports.
The girl’s soccer team embraces all of these facts and uses them to thrive regardless of who they face in the postseason.
In the first round they beat the Steele team ranked fourth in the city in 6A in the San Antonio Express News (SAEN). The Steele game showed that even though the team ended the year on a rough note, they are saturated with playoff experience and have the talent to make a deep run in the playoffs.
In the second round they met the 15-5-4 (W-L-T) Brennan Bears who finished fourth in Northside ISD. The team showed their poise and grit as they pulled out a tough 1-0 win over the Bears last Friday night at Blossom East soccer field.
The first half included scoring opportunities from both sides, however goalkeeper Mary Cardone made a few rough and fantastic saves to keep the game locked at zero going into half.
Merely two minutes into the second half, a counter attack quickly sliced through the Bears defense and led to a Bella Vontoussaint cross to a marked Kyra Falcone, the ball was bobbled at the defender’s feet and taken by Kyra, who promptly rifled in her shot from under ten yards away, before the goalie could make a play on the ball, putting the girls up 1-0. In the remaining 37 minutes, the team dropped back and played a more defensive style in an attempt to grind the game out in their favor. The game plan worked as they went on to win 1-0 and secure a spot in the regional quarterfinals.
The team stepped up against Brennan as Mary Cardone had 7 crucial saves, the three defenders held another playoff team scoreless, Ana Campa controlled the midfield, Bella Vontoussaint pushed the team forward and had the sole assist, and Kyra Falcone did what she does best, score the game winning goal.
Now the girls will face a much more familiar opponent in the third round, the Johnson Jaguars.
The two teams split their two meetings in district this year with an aggregate score of 2-2. Johnson and Mac are extremely even this season as both have terrific players, that will be playing at the college level, and both have a star forward that can change the game.
Ranked 3 and 5 in the final SAEN 6A rankings two weeks ago, these teams are as close in talent as you’ll find in San Antonio. With this in mind, senior Kyra Falcone understands that their game against Johnson will be determined by the intangibles.
“Playoff game victories come down to who wants it the most,” Falcone said. “If we don’t show up ready to play and work hard then getting to the fourth round will be a challenge.”
The girls face Johnson on Tuesday, April 5th, at 6:00 at BAC West, for a chance to go to the regional semis.
