- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,266,040
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
The Southlake Carroll Lady Dragons celebrate a victory over Prosper, 1-0 in a 6A Regional Semifinals Division II girls playoff soccer game played on Friday, March 27, 2026, at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney.
MCKINNEY – In the most competitive games, one moment can be the difference.
During Southlake Carroll's 1-0 win over Prosper in the regional semifinal, a game that featured just four shots on-goal, sophomore Macie Colvin's winning header in the second half just so happened to be the team's first shot on-goal.
The ball was a picture-perfect delivery from senior captain Payton Hayes after taking her defender to the end line. Prosper keeper Josie Juvera reacted to impressively get two hands to it but the power behind Colvin's header was enough to push it through her gloves and into the net.
"It comes down to these moments," Southlake Carroll head coach, and Macie's father, Matt Colvin said. "It's not always going to be 10 pretty passes and a finish. Sometimes you're just going to have to grind it out.
"Neither team put many chances on-goal tonight. Throughout the year, we've talked about when we get chances, we have to bury him, because when you get in the playoffs, you're only going to get a handful."
Carroll, the second-ranked team in the Texas Girls Coaches Association 6A Division II poll, controlled most of the possession during the first half and pressed to win the ball back every time they lost it. The team generated three corner kicks and three total shots in the first half, while Prosper recorded one shot. Prosper sat in defensively and absorbed pressure before playing some long passes to try and utilize their front-line speed to create counter sequences.
"In these games, you're going to be amped up to play, and sometimes that can work to your detriment if you don't control that properly," Prosper head coach Matt Dickinson said. "We got to where we were doing a little bit too much in certain positions and not enough in the others, so we were kind of having to make ourselves do extra work."
During those long-ball situations, Carroll was typically first to every second ball, oftentimes winning the headers. Colvin credited senior defender Ava Sexton for providing her team with extra cover to win back possession and keep pressure on Prosper.
"They have some kids going forward on their team that are super dynamic," Colvin said. "They can really cause problems. Our goal is to make sure when our defenders get matched up one-on-one, we want to have close cover."
Prosper registered its first threatening opportunity on a shot from Isabella Wilson that was saved. Even after going up a goal, Carroll tried to keep pressure on. Juvera kept Prosper in the match with a key save with 21 minutes left. With seven minutes left, Hayes nearly sealed the win with a long-range attempt that hit the crossbar.
Southlake Carroll advances to the regional final next week and will play Denton Guyer at a time and location to be determined.
- Ishmael Johnson
Related:2026 UIL girls soccer playoff pairings: Schedule and results for Dallas-area teams
Lovejoy defense too tough
UNIVERSITY PARK - Lovejoy standout Ella York took a hard hit Friday that briefly knocked her out of action. Putting up with a little pain produced a lot of determination for York and her teammates, capped eventually by some quality production.
York scored two goals while the Lovejoy defense held Midlothian Heritage to two shots on goal in a 2-0 victory in a Class 5A Division II Region II semifinal at Highland Park's Highlander Stadium. York got her first goal in the 74th minute from five yards out on the left side set up by a 50-yard pass from Kenzie Lavender. A Nevada signee, York got free in open space and blasted in her second goal from 32 yards out for her 47th goal of this season with 4:19 remaining.
York was shaken up after a hard collision with a Heritage player in the eighth minute, but she returned to the game seven minutes later. Lovejoy had a 6-0 edge in shots on goal and a 5-0 advantage in additional tries in the second half.
"The collision was painful, but I just tried to get it out of my head and move on. After I got hurt, I was more determined. Absolutely," York said. "I knew we would eventually come through in the second half. We just had to relax and play our game."
Lovejoy (26-0-0), ranked No. 3 in The Dallas Morning News Class 5A-Others area poll, will play top-ranked Frisco Wakeland (24-0-0) in a battle of unbeatens in the 5A-II final with the time, date and site to be determined. Wakeland defeated Lovejoy in last year's final 2-0. It's the second straight season No. 7-ranked Heritage (21-3-1) has dropped a 2-0 decision to Lovejoy in the area round.
Heritage goalie Peyton Medina kept her team in the game with five saves. Medina's best save was leaping high to deny Lovejoy's Izzy Brodelius on a free kick from 39 yards out in the 48th minute.
Lovejoy's defense continued its seasonlong dominance, especially in the second half. Led by defenders such as Chloe Reyna, Brenna Wallace and Cam Newhouse, Lovejoy did not allow any Heritage shots on goal or tries in the second half. Lovejoy goalie Emma Jarboe made two first-half saves for the shutout. Lovejoy has outscored its opposition 144-2 this season, including 24 shutouts.
"I have great defenders, great midfielders than run endline to endline, and overall we defend as a team," Lovejoy coach Ian Keeble said. "If we want to keep clean sheets, everybody's got to defend."
Lovejoy had the best scoring chance in the first half in the 11th minute when Lavender found A.J. Self from 5 yards out on a cross-field pass, but Self's shot sailed high. Heritage had a 2-1 advantage in shots on goal in the first half although Lovejoy had 4-2 edge in additional tries.
- Rick Kretzschmar
Coppell bests Mansfield Lake Ridge
COPPELL – Against the fastest opponent Coppell has seen all year and with a north wind howling in its face, it was up to goalkeeper Kelsey Clark and the Cowgirls defenders to stave off numerous early threats.
By holding Mansfield Lake Ridge off the scoreboard in the first half, Coppell set the stage for a 5-1 victory in a Class 6A Division I Region I semifinal playoff Friday night at Buddy Echols Field.
"The wind definitely didn't help," Clark said, "but we fought through. It is not nerve-wrecking, though, because our district is so tough we are used to situations like that."
Coppell (22-2-1), ranked No. 5 in the state by MaxPreps, improved its winning streak in playoff matches to nine. The run began with six wins en route to the 6A DI state title a year ago.
The Cowgirls advance to the Region I title game against Keller, a 3-2 winner over Plano East.
Lake Ridge (21-2-2), No. 7 in the state, had won 16 consecutive matches with its only loss coming in the opening week of the season in January.
"This was an amazing season," Lake Ridge coach Kayla Nicasio said. "It wasn't the result we wanted tonight but I'm very proud of these girls."
Lake Ridge made its deepest playoff since 2021.
With the strong north wind at its back in the first half, Lake Ridge kept the ball in the offensive end for most of the half, yet trailed 2-0 on a pair of Coppell goals against the run of play.
Logan Kutchins persisted in chasing a slow-moving ball left of the goal and from close range found the right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute. It was Kutchins' 13th goal of the season.
Two minutes later, Rice signee Neerali Kapadia doubled the lead by leaping high to head in a corner kick.
Lake Ridge missed a good chance to cut into the lead with 11 minutes remaining in the half on a skied penalty kick.
The lead grew to 3-0 in the early minutes of the second half when freshman Lainey Wells headed in a free kick.
Lake Ridge closed to 3-1 on sophomore Kyleigh Pete's angled shot to the left corner of the net from 20 yards.
Kapadia struck again with her go-to move of using her speed to slip by a defender setting up an angled shot from 5 yards for her team-leading 25th goal.
With nine minutes remaining Cowgirls' sophomore Esha Polishetty made it 5-1 by directing a low cross into the net from close range.
Coppell is 4-0 in previous meetings with Lake Ridge including a 2019 second-round playoff match.
Last season's state title was the third for the Coppell girls with the other championships coming in 2009 and 2015.
- Randy Jennings
Area Results
Forney 4, Cy Woods 0: Forney advances to face Wylie East in the regional final next week.
Frisco Wakeland 4, Belton 0: A brace with Audrey Gilbert and goals from Kennedy Clark and Dilan Pistorious moves Wakeland to the regional final against Lovejoy next week.
Sachse 2, The Woodlands 0: Lia Lopez and Clara Dowdle's goals moved Sachse on to the regional final where they'll face Grand Oaks.
Argyle 2, Abilene Wylie 0
Grapevine 1, Wichita Falls Memorial 0
Denton Guyer 5, Midland 2
Grand Oaks 1, Wylie 0
Keller 3, Plano East 2
Wylie East 2, Tomball 0
Colleyville Heritage 2, Amarillo 1
Burleson Centennial 1, Amarillo Tascosa 0
Prosper Walnut Grove 1, Midlothian 0
Argyle 2, Wylie 0
Lovejoy 2, Midlothian Heritage 0
Frisco Wakeland 4, Belton 0
Life Waxahachie 2, Decatur 1 (OT)
Celina 6, Kilgore 0
Prosper Richland d. Bullard (SO)
Aubrey 4, Henderson 1
Sunnyvale 5, Athens 1
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Sign up for our FREE HS newsletter.
Continue reading...
