The girls soccer team will play its first district game against Marcus on Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus Marauders Stadium. 

In the 2022 season, the team finished with a record of 9-1-4 in district and was knocked out in the first round of playoffs. This year, the team is aiming to win district.

“[One goal] is just to be able to win [in] districts [since it’s been] a while,” head coach Robert Vaughn said. “That’s always our No. 1 goal, but [we] also [want] to get better each game. We have a speed goal we’re working on right now, and by the time playoffs start, we want to be faster than that [original] time. We’re continually working trying to get better.”

Last season, the team tied with Marcus twice with final scores of 1-1 and 3-3.

“I really, really want to beat them,” team captain and goalkeeper Sophia Witis Hughes said. “All throughout my four years here, we haven’t beaten them. I really want to get a win for my satisfaction and for everybody else’s satisfaction. I think we all just need to work really hard and want it at the same level. I really want a win out of it, and for the team to play together as a whole.”

In the preseason, the team played three games and three scrimmages. They tied, lost one game against Reedy and Rockwall-Heath. They also took a win in games against Stratford, Tomball and The Woodlands on Jan. 13 and 14.

“We’re probably the toughest district in the state,” Vaughn said. “Every team we play in preseason has been ranked, so it’s a super tough schedule, but I’m just really excited to see what this group can put together. [This] is a special group, so we can do some good things.”

This year, to adjust and get the team together, one of the three captains, senior Eleanor Hays, is trying to develop a strong team bond by making sure everyone on the team understands each other.

“One thing I really wanted to focus on this year as captain was team unity,”  Hays said. “Last year, there were some things that kind of divided the team up and affected our chemistry on the field. This year, I wanted to make sure everyone was each other’s best friend, and so far we’ve been really successful.”

As the team moves forward, players plan to work on communicating in the game better and further improving their speed.

“You get to learn about somebody every day in practice,” Vaughn said. “You get to know some of their strengths [and] some of their weaknesses. [As a team], we try to keep a culture of family; we break out together as a family, sometimes families get mad at each other, but they always stick together. That’s kind of our focus, just trying to stick together.”