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THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Freshman Kaleigh Olmstead scored twice and The Woodlands girls’ soccer team made it stand up for a 2-1 victory over Kingwood Friday in a playoff tune-up match at Weldon Willig Field on the campus of The Woodlands High School.
District 14-5A champions The Woodlands, which closed the 2009-10 regular season at 22-2, begins defense of its Region II-5A title on Tuesday with Klein Collins. That match is set for 6 p.m. at Woodforest Stadium.
“We’re excited,” Lady Highlanders coach Dina Graves said about the playoffs. “The real season starts. We talked about the fact that it doesn’t matter who you play or what your record is, everybody is 0-0 (in the playoffs) and you just have to play.”
District 19-5 champions Kingwood, which posted a 20-3 record this season, opens with Milby at 8 p.m. Monday in Humble.
The Lady Highlanders and Lady Mustangs played to a 1-1 tie last year in playoff tune-up match in Kingwood. It looked like they might equal that result on Friday before Olmstead scored her second goal of the match at the 18-minute mark of the second half to break a 1-1 tie and give The Woodlands, which outshot Kingwood 14-9, the victory.
Lady Highlanders sophomore goalkeeper Laura Watson came up with a save as time ran out to preserve the match. Watson and senior Mallory Garthwaite combined on the victory in goal.
Graves said that the final score was not the focus of the exhibition match. “We both needed a game to kind of put pressure on ourselves (before the playoffs),” she said.
“It was something that was good for both of us. Win, lose or draw I think that this point (this match) doesn’t really matter. We’re just kind of getting back in the swing of things and getting things ready for the playoffs.
“So I feel good about that. It wasn’t about winning or losing, just getting back in the swing of things.”
The Woodlands closed the regular season with 17 consecutive victories. The only two losses in 2009-10 were identical 2-1 scores to both Belton and Cinco Ranch.
A trio of seniors lead the offensive charges heading into the playoffs. Kylie Cook scored 23 goals and added 35 assists while Molly Missimer finished with 22 goals, 16 assists, and Meghan Gibbons also contributed greatly with 21 goals and 21 assists.
Cook and Gibbons are returning All-State players as is senior defender Kelsey Missimer.
In addition, sophomore Emily Taylor scored 15 goals and added 11 assists during the recently completed regular season.
In all, 18 different players scored goals this season for the Lady Highlanders and a total of 22 players contributed assists throughout the season.
The Woodlands defense was equally outstanding. The Lady Highlanders recorded 16 shutouts this season. During the regular season, The Woodlands defense yielded only 10 goals in 24 matches, outscoring the opponents by a combined score of 128-10.
This year’s senior-laden roster also includes Gabby Lang, Heather Terry, Kelly Konrad, Cristina Mendoza, Kristina Sanclemente, Sarah Gallup, Julia Caliel, Casey Nice, Maddie Galey, Sarah Ryan, Natalie Johnson, and Sara Ellis.
The junior group includes Claire Watson, Hannah Stanifer, Natalie Kintigh, and Kelsey Langham, with sophomore Lexi Ricketts rounding out the 2009-10 roster.
District 14-5A champions The Woodlands, which closed the 2009-10 regular season at 22-2, begins defense of its Region II-5A title on Tuesday with Klein Collins. That match is set for 6 p.m. at Woodforest Stadium.
“We’re excited,” Lady Highlanders coach Dina Graves said about the playoffs. “The real season starts. We talked about the fact that it doesn’t matter who you play or what your record is, everybody is 0-0 (in the playoffs) and you just have to play.”
District 19-5 champions Kingwood, which posted a 20-3 record this season, opens with Milby at 8 p.m. Monday in Humble.
The Lady Highlanders and Lady Mustangs played to a 1-1 tie last year in playoff tune-up match in Kingwood. It looked like they might equal that result on Friday before Olmstead scored her second goal of the match at the 18-minute mark of the second half to break a 1-1 tie and give The Woodlands, which outshot Kingwood 14-9, the victory.
Lady Highlanders sophomore goalkeeper Laura Watson came up with a save as time ran out to preserve the match. Watson and senior Mallory Garthwaite combined on the victory in goal.
Graves said that the final score was not the focus of the exhibition match. “We both needed a game to kind of put pressure on ourselves (before the playoffs),” she said.
“It was something that was good for both of us. Win, lose or draw I think that this point (this match) doesn’t really matter. We’re just kind of getting back in the swing of things and getting things ready for the playoffs.
“So I feel good about that. It wasn’t about winning or losing, just getting back in the swing of things.”
The Woodlands closed the regular season with 17 consecutive victories. The only two losses in 2009-10 were identical 2-1 scores to both Belton and Cinco Ranch.
A trio of seniors lead the offensive charges heading into the playoffs. Kylie Cook scored 23 goals and added 35 assists while Molly Missimer finished with 22 goals, 16 assists, and Meghan Gibbons also contributed greatly with 21 goals and 21 assists.
Cook and Gibbons are returning All-State players as is senior defender Kelsey Missimer.
In addition, sophomore Emily Taylor scored 15 goals and added 11 assists during the recently completed regular season.
In all, 18 different players scored goals this season for the Lady Highlanders and a total of 22 players contributed assists throughout the season.
The Woodlands defense was equally outstanding. The Lady Highlanders recorded 16 shutouts this season. During the regular season, The Woodlands defense yielded only 10 goals in 24 matches, outscoring the opponents by a combined score of 128-10.
This year’s senior-laden roster also includes Gabby Lang, Heather Terry, Kelly Konrad, Cristina Mendoza, Kristina Sanclemente, Sarah Gallup, Julia Caliel, Casey Nice, Maddie Galey, Sarah Ryan, Natalie Johnson, and Sara Ellis.
The junior group includes Claire Watson, Hannah Stanifer, Natalie Kintigh, and Kelsey Langham, with sophomore Lexi Ricketts rounding out the 2009-10 roster.
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