The Sachse girls soccer team celebrates with the gold trophy after defeating Grand Oaks 4-0 in Tuesday’s Region II-6A Division I Final at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
GEORGETOWN — Sachse senior forward Kylee Blair recalls a conversation that she had with her teammates during a preseason tournament in January at Birkelbach Field.
The biggest message that resonated among the players is they want to play at Birkelbach Field later in the season when something more important is on the line.
After the Lady Mustangs dispatched the Lady Grizzlies 4-0 at Birkelbach field during Tuesday’s Region II-6A Division I Final, Sachse could potentially make another trip to Georgetown late next week, where the state championship final will be played.
Of course, Sachse will have to get past Keller later this week in the state semifinals, but Blair believes that Sachse has the experience and resolve to contend for a state title. Keller unseated defending state champion Coppell, 2-1, in the Region I-6A Division I Final. Sachse and Keller will play at 7 p.m. Thursday at McKinney ISD Stadium.
“It’s so exciting for this group because everyone underestimated us and have played against super-hard teams to get to this point,” she said. “As soon as we won our first game here earlier in the year, that was our mentality, which was to get back here in April and show everyone who the Sachse Mustangs are.”
After needing 83 minutes to score a goal in a 2-0 win over The Woodlands in last week’s regional semifinal, Sachse needed less than eight minutes to get on the board against Grand Oaks.
Relentless pressure by Sachse opened an attacking lane for Oklahoma signee Kate McCallister.
Grand Oaks goalkeeper Camryn Cumbie made a diving save on McCallister’s hard blast on the left side, but Blair pounced on the rebound and kicked it into the goal and a 1-0 Sachse lead.
“I saw Kate taking it with her left foot, and I was there in support,” Blair said. “The goalie knocked it away, and I was lucky to tap it in.”
Grand Oaks was held to one shot on goal in the first half, but that one shot created for a nervous moment for Sachse.
The Lady Grizzlies had a breakaway in the 18th minute after a breakdown in the middle of the field by the Lady Mustangs’ defense, but Sachse sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Miller charged aggressively out of her goal and deflected a shot attempt out of the field of play.
“Sydney has been building confidence in goal,” head coach Kristen Campbell said. “We’ve already been through a shootout. She’s learning herself more in the goal and knowing where her defenders are going to be. Everything has led up to that moment. She just executed when she needed to.”
Sachse continued to control the pace, and its aggressive approach led to a three-goal outburst in the second half, with two of those tallies coming a minute apart.
In the 47th minute, Blair absorbed contact in the middle of the field, dribbled the ball past three Grand Oaks defenders and a kick from 20 yards away went over the right hand of Cumbie for a 2-0 Sachse lead.
One minute after Blair scored her second goal of the match, a rush up the right side of the field by McCallister opened a shooting lane for sophomore Emma Ramirez, who beat Cumbie for a commanding 3-0 Sachse lead.
Junior defender Bianca Cruz made it 4-0 Sachse after she stuck the ball just underneath the crossbar with 20:01 remaining in the match.
“They played a slightly different formation that we haven’t seen,” Campbell said. “Grand Oaks tried to spread the field, which left a little more space in the midfield for us. Our center-midfielders, Lia Lopez and Kate McCallister, had a little more space to do their jobs, which was really good for them. We’ve also been working on finishing in practice. It’s finally paying off.”
Tuesday’s win marked the 23rd consecutive win for the Lady Mustangs (25-2), who haven’t lost since Jan. 6. It also marks the first time that Sachse has made the state semifinals since Campbell joined the program almost 20 years ago.
“We’ve been gaining momentum in our playoff games,” she said. “They’ve been putting in the work to get back to normal, work out their soreness, work out their kinks, all of the injuries so that we’re ready for the next game. They’ve been putting in the work. It’s been amazing to watch. These girls are not ready for their season to end.”
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