Girls soccer will compete against Lewisville at home on March 12 at 7:30 p.m. This is the second-to-last game of district for the team, and will feature a starting line of seniors for senior night.

“Lewisville [is] a good team that gives everybody trouble, so it should be a good game,” head coach Bobby Vaughn said. “We did beat them 7-0 last time, but they had just come off of some quarantine time and they weren’t organized. It’s a big game. It’s a game we need to win in order to make it to the playoffs.”

Senior defensive mid and outside back Hope Ryan said senior night is special to the players because seniors start and end the game. Currently, only two seniors are consistent starters for the team.

“It’s been a really big competition this year for starting spots, and that’s OK because we are honestly one huge family so we are OK with being put against each other,” Ryan said. “But, senior night is just really special because seniors get to start [and] usually we get to finish out the game, too. Also, our parents get to walk with us and bring us flowers and say a little biography for us. It’s just a moment where we get the spotlight, so it’s special and I’m really looking forward to it,”

The team needs to win against Lewisville in order to qualify for playoffs, making this an important game for the players. Sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Witizhughes said that Lewisville is a team to watch because they have strong, fast forwards, but the team will do their best to pass around them. 

“I’m hoping to get less goals scored on, because right now we are in a tough spot to get into the playoffs and the goals-for and goals-against have a lot to do with if we are going to make it to playoffs or not,” Witizhughes said. “Gaining more confidence would be a goal as well, being louder on the field and having more connections with people on the team.” 

Vaughn said the team has made leadership and team bonding a priority this year in order to help the players flow better on the field. After four players had been quarantined at the beginning of the season, Vaugn said the team values the time they are able to spend together more. 

“This time last year, we were getting ready for the playoffs, thinking we were going to come back from spring break and be together, but that was taken away,” Vaugn said. “[The players] don’t take practice for granted much anymore; they know it can be removed at any time, they could be quarantined for 10 days, or we could be shut down for two weeks. They come in and they work hard. [They’re a] really a great group of kids and I’m honored to be their coach.

After the game against Lewisville, the last district game will be on March 22 against Plano West at home. The Hawks beat Plano 2-1 on March 8 with two goals by senior Taylor Cheatham.

“I hope that we win out the rest of the season, we only have two games left that I hope we can win to get higher up in our standings,” Ryan said. “I hope that we can win district, win region and move on to state. Last year, we didn’t get to go to the playoffs because we got cut off right at our last home game, so I just hope that this year everything works out and, even if we don’t win state, we can still make good memories.”