The CCHS girls’ soccer team played in their quarter-final regional game on Tuesday, February 5. The Lady Cowboys beat the Western High School Wildcats 3-1. After winning this game, the girls continued on to play in the semi-final regional game against their rival, the Cypress Bay High School Lightning. On Friday, February 8, the Lady Cowboys’ season came to an end after they lost 2-0.
To start off the game on Tuesday, the Wildcats had the ball and maintained control, but the Cowboys put high pressure on them right away. It didn’t take long for the Wildcats to score because they had lots of speed and were able to get the ball up top, outrunning the Cowboy defense. Although the Cowboys were down by one, they seemed more determined to score. After a few minutes of playing, midfielder Karlie Schlosser took the ball up and scored, tying the game.
After the Cowboys scored, the Wildcats started back up and passed the ball back toward their defense. Forward, Kimberly Slinkosky decided to use her speed and pressured their defense, making them get the ball off their feet even quicker. The crowd roared as everyone stood up, eager to see what was going to happen. Goalie Alexia Chacon made a save and then told her back line what needed to be fixed.
“I needed the defense to not jump in so much and to slow down to minimize getting beat and to tighten up in the back,” Alexia Chacon said.
“I really hoped this was our year.”
The game was starting to heat up with a tied score of 1-1. The Wildcats got the ball back in the Lady Cowboys’ box, causing Chacon to come off her line and dive in to get the ball. The ball did not get back in Cooper City’s box until after halftime. Schlosser got a free kick in the middle of the field, and then was followed in the goal by the defensive center back,Sam Worley. The Lady Cowboys had their first lead of the game, ending the half 2-1.
The Lady Cowboys started with the ball at halftime and maintained most of the control, but the ball had to be saved by Chacon early on. Center midfielder, Olivia Lewis had everyone in the stands on their feet when she took the ball up from the midfield, beating the Wildcat defender by faking right and going completely left, never losing control of the ball. This did not end in a goal for Lewis, but the goalie knocked the ball out, creating a corner kick. Off of this corner kick, Schlosser was there to head the ball in, creating a 3-1 lead.
The game continued to go back and forth, but number two on the Wildcats was given a yellow card for fouling Lewis harshly. In the last moments of the game, the Wildcats didn’t give up and had Chacon come out to save the ball. Worley came back and got in the goal to stop the shot made by the opposing team. The game ended with a score of 3-1.
The Lady Cowboys then played their most important game against their rival, Cypress Bay High School. The game was intense from the first few minutes until the last seconds. The Lightning had the ball at the kickoff but one minute into the game, Lewis tried to get a shot off, setting the tone of the game for the Lady Cowboys.
“I really hoped this was our year. If we won tonight, it would’ve been the furthest we’ve gone in a long time,” Sarah Megna said.
Cailin Reto was placed in the net for this game because neither of the two rostered goalies were able to play. Reto made goal-saving stops the entire game. She dove from corner to corner and jumped up to the top post to save the ball. But Cypress was still able to score one goal early on in the game.
A foul was called on the outside back defender, Taylor Pinna just outside the corner of the 18-yard box. The Lightning player took a high up shot that Reto tipped off. However, the ball came back down and a different played rebounded it in.
“We played our hearts out against Cypress, but it just wasn’t in our favor to win.”
The entire first half everyone was defending, but the Lady Cowboys were unable to get a pass flow going. It was also taking everyone on the team to work their hardest to make sure no other goals were scored. As a result, Coach Kevin Coleman had to sub players in and out more often so they wouldn’t cramp up or get too tired.
After halftime, the Cowboys started with the ball and had an entirely new mindset. They were first to every ball and ran up and down the field to defend. Players started to foul so much that a yellow card was given out when a Cypress player kicked Schlosser in the side of the head. The Lady Cowboys managed to get a few good corner kicks and shots on the ball. In just the last five seconds of the game, The Lightning were able to get in Cooper City’s box and cross the ball into an open player right in front of the goal, making the final score 2-0.
After a long season, the Cowboys won all but two games, and only of those actually counted. This team had a lot of starting seniors, but the underclassmen will still be here for the following years to make a solid team.
“This was an incredible season,” Reto said. “We played our hearts out against Cypress, but it just wasn’t in our favor to win.”
Photo by Carly Cuoco
