Westwood gets defensive, shuts out Lake Travis for Class 6A girls soccer bi-district win
Westwood unveiled a new formation and its own proven soccer recipe of great defense, athletic goalkeeping and quick passing to beat District 26-6A runner-up Lake Travis 1-0 Friday night in a bi-district girls soccer playoff match at Vandegrift's Monroe Stadium.
“We introduced a new offensive formation on Monday of this week, and our girls really bought in," Westwood coach Malcolm Framjee said. "They are a very intelligent group and picked it up and executed well. Lake Travis is too good for us to beat them unless we played solid fundamentally and gave them a different look offensively.”
The new formation proved necessary as Lake Travis pressed a well-balanced offense in the first 19 minutes. Cavaliers Flora Glantz, Finley Schoenbeck and Giana Bourland used ball control and passing skills to press the Warriors' defense, but Westwood (9-4-7) met every run. All-state goalkeeper Atlee Olofson was impressive again in the net with leaping saves, athletic deflections and a powerful leg that launched kick after kick into the Cavaliers' half of the pitch, forcing Lake Travis to regroup offensively.
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After a fierce Cavs run with just over 20 minutes left in the first half, Olofson slammed a kick into the Lake Travis side of the pitch and the Warriors went into a crisp two-touch passing sequence. They moved the ball near the goal, and Sasha Brown two-touched a pass into the middle, where Abigail Burgett redirected the ball into the right side of the goal with 20:02 left in the first half.
“We really emphasize the one-two touch passing and spacing, getting the ball moving quickly to find a seam in the defense,” Framjee said. “Against a well-coached and solid defensive team like Lake Travis, you need a break, and the team kept pressing until we found the opening.”
The goal stunned a Cavs team that had dominated the early possession but failed to score.
“Both the senior, Sasha Brown, who got the assist, and Abigail Burgett, who scored, don’t play club and haven’t played club since they were in elementary school,” Framjee said. “I think that goes to show the kind of program we run and how we build up Westwood soccer to have two girls like that go against a bunch of talent at Lake Travis and do well, when the only time they touch the ball on the practice field is at Westwood.”
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Lake Travis (15-5-3) came close to evening the score with less than two minters left in the first half when Schoenbeck launched a corner kick in front of the Warriors' goal. In the subsequent chaos the ball appeared to roll free to a Cavs player who tapped it into the goal. But the linesman indicated that the offensive attacker was significantly offside and negated the goal.
In the second half, Lake Travis pressed the attack and Westwood dropped all 10 field players into its half of the pitch — not as a defensive strategy, but in real-time response to a fierce Cavs offensive effort. Olofson, a four-year starter at goalkeeper who will play for Notre Dame, had a busy time in the net and was pleased after the match.
“We lost at our field in bi-district last year (to Austin High in overtime), and we were not going to let that happen this year," said Olofson, who had three saves in the final nine minutes. "Lake Travis is really good; I play on club with many of their players, and we are friends and rivals, but today was all about a single match, and we really met the challenge.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Westwood girls open 6A soccer playoffs with 1-0 win over Lake Travis
