The regular season is over for Girls’ Highschool Soccer in the state of Texas, and the Trojans have snuck into the playoffs as the final team in District 26. After a big win against Westlake on February 24th, Anderson finished the season going 1-2-1 down the stretch with a big 6-0 win against Del Valle, a 1-1 tie against the Bowie Bulldogs, and losses to Lake Travis and Dripping Springs, the top two teams in the district.
The Trojans finished 7-4-5 in district play and 9-5-5 overall. They narrowly beat out the 8-6-2 Chaps for the final playoff bid with much help from that late-season victory. Madeleine Novinger and Sydney Gaynor netted goals in the 2-0 victory over Westlake. That victory proved to be the difference in finishing ahead of the Chaps in the final standings.
The rest of the playoff spots in Anderson’s district were claimed by Dripping Springs(14-0-2), Lake Travis(13-1-2), and Buda Johnson(9-5-2). While the Trojans and Chaps were extremely competitive for the ever-important 4th spot in the district, the rest of the district was fairly non-competitive as Bowie, Austin High, Akins, and Del Valle won only a few games each.
The Trojans are headed into a first round matchup with the 15-1-4 Round Rock Dragons who are ranked 9th in the state. The Dragons haven’t lost a game since January 14th, when they dropped a 2-0 contest to Rockwall-Heath. After that Round Rock went 12-0-2 to finish the season, en route to the District 25-6A title. They finished just ahead of the 10-1-3 Vandegrift Vipers to win the crown.
All things considered, the Trojans had a very successful first season in 6A. Not every team has transitioned as well to the new district, and that is a testament not only to the talent on this Anderson squad, but also the coaching. A big matchup with Round Rock looms, and the Trojans will almost certainly be underdogs, but there’s no reason to think they can’t pull off the upset.
