Austin-area girls soccer: Playoffs are down the road, but TAPPS is already there

Butch Hart
·5 min read
Dripping Springs forward Ellie Hodsden had a big week with a double hat trick. She had four goals in a 7-1 win over Austin High and then scored all three goals as the Tigers beat Johnson 3-0.
Dripping Springs forward Ellie Hodsden had a big week with a double hat trick. She had four goals in a 7-1 win over Austin High and then scored all three goals as the Tigers beat Johnson 3-0.

St. Michael’s opened TAPPS postseason play by beating Tyler Grace Community 1-0 in overtime. Crusaders forward Lauren Hill notched the only goal for St. Michaels, which finished runner-up in the state tournament a year ago.  Crusaders standout midfielder Laney Kalsu was struck in the head and forced to sit out the second half and overtime, however, and the team is awaiting her medical release ahead of this weekend's state quarterfinal against Fort Worth Southwest Christian.

Dripping Springs remained unbeaten with a 3-0 win over Johnson as Ellie Hodsden scored a hat trick with assists from Caroline Dill, Hannah Gamez and Riley Sisson. The Tigers have moved up into Class 6A after winning a 5A state championship two years ago and reaching the regional last season without a bump in performance.  In other 26-6A action, Westlake blanked Del Valle 8-0.

Burnet blanked Florence 9-0 to improve to 18-2-1 with its eighth straight win. Amelia Griffin and Brook Oliva both had hat tricks for the Bulldogs while Kaycie Banton notched two goals. Earlier the Bulldogs beat Lago Vista 6-1 as Caroline Valencia scored three goals with two assists. Amelia Griffin added two goals and an assist. The defense was led by Reagan Shipley, Emily Wagner, Mekayla Johnson, Haylie Bartlett and goalkeeper Juliet Morales. The Vikings' goal came off a penalty kick.

Burnet also beat Gateway Charter 5-0 as freshman Oliva scored three goals with Griffin and Banton adding a goal each. Burnet assists were from Laney Huffman, Julie Suazo, Valencia and Griffin, who notched two.

More: Lake Travis, Rouse, Weiss boys are leading the way in their district soccer races

Giddings beat Manor New Tech 10-0 as the Buffs used three goalkeepers in the shutout, Gabby Jennings, Journey Wolridge and Adamaris Hernandez. Offensively, Giddings was led by Jaida Rodea, with two goals and two assists; Kelby Cowen, with two goals and an assist, and Makinley Kylberg and Abby Iselt, with two goals each.  Kylberg had four assists. Miranda Tello had a goal, as did Audrey Nicks, while Sadie Michel had one assist and Tello two.

Class 5A: Red-hot Rouse blasts through the week

Rouse has had an incredible three-match streak. The Raiders tied first-place Cedar Park 1-1, then beat Leander 2-0 and Liberty Hill 1-0. Cedar Park blanked Lehman 5-0 as Maddie Adams netted two goals with an assist. Frances Tran and Isabel Peters both had a goal with two assists while Abby Hall scored once. Georgetown pounded Pflugerville 9-1 as Finley Newell had three goals and an assist and Addie Russu added two goals and two assists. Dennie Decker notched two goals while Maeve Connerty had a goal and an assist. Bella Flowers scored the final Eagles goal while Kim Salazar, Emie Benson and Charlotte Brown each had assists.

Class 6A: Round Rock taking control of its district

Kara Harris scored two goals with two assists as Round Rock beat Stony Point. Alexis Montgomery, Kaiya Bullock and Viv Duarte also scored, and there was an own goal by Stony Point. Amrey Wenneker scored for Stony Point.  Westwood freshman Mia Wiele, back from national team camp, scored the winner as the Warriors edged Cedar Ridge 1-0. Vandegrift blasted Manor 10-1 as Lelis Cunningham scored three goals and Cooper Horn and Sierra Ache added two goals each. Kennedy Horn, Brit Collins and Brookelyn Jordan added solo goals.

On Friday night, Round Rock blanked McNeil 7-0 as Harris had three goals, AJ Mayock two goals and Zoe Dick and Carlee Deegan one each. Westwood nipped Stony Point 1-0, Vista Ridge beat Manor 7-0, and Vandegrift blanked Cedar Ridge 4-0. Lake Travis beat Westlake 2-0 on goals by freshman midfielder Amelia Clark and senior midfielder Flora Glantz, who also had an assist. McKenzie Peck added an assist.

Ann Richards shut out Juan Navarro 6-0 as Isabella Farias and Becky Madrid scored two goals each and Yaretzi Vazquez and Skylar Moren added one each.

Dripping Springs' Hodsden earns player of the week honors

Player of the week: Ellie Hodsden, soph., Dripping Springs. Hodsden had a double hat trick week. The fleet forward had four goals as the Tigers beat Austin High 7-1 and then scored all three goals in Tuesday night's blanking of Johnson. Hodsen, the American-Statesman's Central Texas newcomer of the year last season, has 35 goals this season.

Previous players of the week: Cedar Ridge's Emma Torres, Round Rock's Zoe Dick, Burnet's Amelia Griffith, Ann Richards' Yaretzi Vazquez, Round Rock's Kara Harris.

Big wins make Rouse the area's team of the week

Team of the week: Rouse. The Raiders (12-3-1, 7-1-1) had a pair of impressive shutout wins — 2-0 over Leander and 1-0 over Liberty Hill — on top of a 1-1 draw with district-leading Cedar Park. Goalkeeper Kayla Heyenberger, with the back-to-back shutouts, now has 10 on the season.

Previous teams of the week: Connally, Georgetown, Wimberley, Cedar Park, Ann Richards.

Best area matches to watch

Friday

Ann Richards at Eastside Early College, 6 p.m.

Leander at Liberty Hill, 7:15 p.m.

Lockhart at Cedar Park, 7:15 p.m.

Pflugerville at Hendrickson, 7:15 p.m.

Westlake at Anderson, 7:45 p.m.

Fab Fives

Class 6A

1. Round Rock 10-1-3

2. Dripping Springs 12-3-3

3. Lake Travis 11-3-3

4. Vandegrift 8-5-2

5. Westwood 6-4-4

Class 5A

1. Georgetown 14-0-3

2. Cedar Park 11-3-3

3. Ann Richards 12-1-0

4. Rouse 12-3-1

5. Leander 14-2-1

Class 4A and others

1. Burnet 18-2-1

2. St. Michael’s 16-2-2

3. Wimberley 14-1-2

4. Giddings 10-3-2

5. Salado 18-2-0

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin-area girls high school soccer draws closer to state playoffs