Young soccer players packed the stands of Chaparral Stadium on Friday Mar. 6. It was a partnership night between girls soccer and Westlake FC, where hundreds of future Chaps soccer players packed the stands for a game that would ordinarily be sparsely attended.
At halftime, they flooded the field to scrimmage with their teammates and show off their skills to their enthused parents—some of the Chaparral players even joined in on the fun. But as halftime came to a close, girls soccer retook the field to close out another dominant showing against Del Valle.
Girls soccer (8-3) won a commanding 5-0 victory over the Del Valle Cardinals (1-10) at home, securing the third place spot in the district and a playoff berth. This is the Chaps’ second meeting with the Cardinals this season, their first matchup ended with a Chaparral victory 3-0.
“It definitely feels great to win like this,” senior Janina Maldei-Stumm said. “It was a good bounce back from losing to Lake Travis, and I think it’ll give us a lot of confidence heading into the playoffs.”
The game started in roaring fashion for the Chaparrals with sophomore Mia Hocker scoring a sensational goal through the keeper’s legs in just the fourth minute. This goal was quickly followed up by a point-blank goal by senior Ade Nelson off of a corner kick.
“I normally play back but coach brought me up for the corner kick,” Nelson said. “It was a really good corner kick… the ball just sort of fell into my lap which made scoring easy.”
The Chaps suffocating offense didn’t let up, as Del Valle only managed to push past midfield twice in the first half, both times coming away empty-handed. The Cardinals did manage one shot on goal that was blocked by keeper Sophia Martin, but that would prove to be Del Valle’s one chance at scoring the whole game. And to top it off, as halftime crept closer junior Sarah Mills logged the Chaps third and final goal of the first half, assisted by junior Claire Eckman.
“Everyone played really well, if we keep playing like this we can beat anybody,” Maldei-Stumm said.
The second half was no different. Junior Emma Terrell struck the corner for the Chaps fourth goal, which was quickly followed a few minutes later by a fifth goal from Eckman, putting the dagger in the game. The remaining 25 minutes of the second half consisted of a few missed shots by the Chaps and a number of beautiful through-ball passes that split Del Valle defenders perfectly, bringing the ball directly into the possession of the strikers.
Girls soccer plays undefeated Dripping Springs away on Tuesday Mar. 10. The Chaps can secure second place in the district and the first seed in the 6A DI playoffs if they pair a win at Dripping Springs with a Lake Travis loss or tie to fourth place Austin High.
