Coppell kicked off District 6-6A play on Tuesday with a 2-0 loss against Plano (6-2-1, 1-0 in District 6-6A), losing key senior defender Daniel Nelson early in the second half for a red card warranted by a last ditch tackle. 

Coppell (4-5-1, 0-1 in District 6-6A) faces Plano West (2-5, 1-0 in District 6-6A) in its first home match of district play on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Buddy Echols field tonight without Nelson. 

“I know my team is going to be able to respond well without me on the field and take home the win,” Nelson said. “We didn’t get the start we wanted to but we’re going to go out there and show them that the first loss doesn’t define us.”

Along with focusing on energy and communication that was lacking their match against Plano, Coppell plans to zero in on its scoring slump. 

“We’re playing well but we’re not putting away the opportunities we were given,” Coppell sophomore midfielder Preston Taylor said. “We got worse at scoring goals as the preseason went on, so we’re going to focus on what we need to do, respond with a better attitude, more work ethic and focus on finishing out chances.”

Though the individuals themselves are talented, as this is one of Coppell’s youngest teams, their disconnect is evident in that the underclassmen aren’t used to high school play.

“At our best, we can keep up with almost anyone,” Nelson said. “But that’s if we come out our best, and recently we haven’t been able to play our best game for the whole game. We need to focus on ourselves and change that [tonight].”

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