Lady Mustangs fall short in state soccer tournament

April 6, 2010

FRIENDSWOOD — For the past four years, the ticket to the Class 4A girls state soccer tournament had to be punched through Friendswood.

Last year - Waco Midway attempted to dethrone the Lady Mustangs, but were unsuccessful. However, this year, Midway used a single goal in the eighth minute of the first half to escape with the 2010 Region III title and to keep their dream season alive for a state championship.

Friendswood (24-3-3) had won the region four years running, a remarkable string of four straight state tourney appearances. Two of those regional wins came against Midway (21-2-3) in the finals. Midway is headed back to the state tournament in Georgetown for the first time since 2004.

Friendswood had been on the warpath throughout the playoffs like few other teams in the state. In their five playoff games leading up to the showdown against Midway, the Lady Mustangs outscored their opponents 29-2, including a 5-1 thrashing of Texas City in the regional semifinals.

Jeri Hicks of Midway scored the only goal of the day and it was enough to unseat the Lady Mustangs despite the number of opportunities that Friendswood had to score to even up the match.

Hicks intercepted a pass deep in Friendswood’s defensive end and beat the goalkeeper with a low shot into the net for a shocking early lead. It was the first time Friendswood trailed in a game in more than two months.

The Pantherettes constantly had to battle Annalisa Hall, an Oklahoma commit who has shredded defenses since her arrival from Friendswood's basketball team. With 15 minutes left in the game Hall hit the post on a shot that looked to be the equalizer. But it just wasn't meant to be this year.

“I thought the girls put forth a great effort, especially in the second half,” head coach Laura Peter said. “It just felt like we were a step slow or couldn’t find a way to speed the game up or just didn’t finish.”

It was a tough loss for seniors Annalisa Hall and Miriam Mooney.

“You never want any streak to end, but they all have to eventually,” Peter said. “Those are two seniors who have been integral to all those state tournaments. They’re not used to it, and you really hate to see it end that way, but I guess that’s just how it is sometimes. It ends when you don’t want it to.”

Friendswood 5 - Texas City 1
Annalisa Hall scored three goals in leading the Lady Mustangs to a 5-1 win over district rival Texas City in the Class 5A Region III semifinals. Makenzie Newkirk and Kara Wheeler also scored for Friendswood.
Meghan Vickery, Mia Castillo, Sarah Martin, Landry Lowe, and Hall had assists for Friendswood.
Friendswood beat Texas City 1-0 and 2-0 during the regular district competition. The win sent the Lady Mustangs to the 4A Region III finals.

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