“Anytime you can keep the defending state champions to a shutout you have to be happy with that,” Coppell girls soccer coach Craig Able said.
On Tuesday, the Coppell girls soccer team tied 0-0 with Flower Mound Marcus at Buddy Echols Field. Coppell came close to scoring twice in the match.
Off a corner kick in the first half, Coppell freshman forward Emeline Holder received a header from Monica Morales, then nutmegged Marcus junior goalkeeper Aubrey Tipton. After the play, Holder was called offside and the goal was discounted. The Cowgirls scored again in the second half but the ball ricocheted off the football goal post so technically was out-of-bounds prior to scoring.
Last season, the Marauders defeated the Coppell girls soccer team in both meetings and scored eight goals. This year, Marcus (10-5-4, 4-3-3 in District 6-6A) scored once against the Cowgirls (13-3-3, 6-2-2). The goal was scored previously in the season on Jan. 30, when the teams tied 1-1.
According to Able, Marcus sophomore forward Madi Patterson scored 36 goals last season and nine in the past four matches.
“Another game where she doesn’t score is really good for our girls and morale so I’m very, very proud of our defensive effort,” Able said.
Coppell’s defensive effort extends to its junior goalkeeper Veronica Orzolek, who secured her 12th shutout of the season in last night’s match.
The Cowgirls travel to Plano East (8-9-1, 4-5) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Panthers are currently fifth place and battling for a playoff spot four district points behind Marcus. The Cowgirls previously defeated Plano East, 4-0, but enter Friday’s match with caution.
“It’s definitely not a game that we can just walk in and assume we’re going to win,” Able said. “We have to make sure we are defensively sound again and take our chances offensively.”
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