The red score board glinted in the dark sky with the Coppell girls lacrosse team in the lead by a narrow margin.
It is the beginning of the second quarter, and it’s also the time for Coppell to widen the lead. The teams makes their way to the center circle, ready for the quarter, and Coppell senior Kate Nelson takes off with the ball. McKinney manages to take it back, but as the ball falls to the ground, Coppell senior Sydney Gunnels retrieves and aims for the net.
It was a…
“Score by No. 20: Sydney Gunnels.”
And then another score by Coppell senior Ally Gunnels. And then again by Coppell junior Wrenn Popp.
By the end of the second quarter and leading to halftime, Coppell had scored nine times.
It was ultimately this lead that McKinney was unable to recover. On Thursday, Coppell defeated McKinney, 15-10, at Coppell Middle School North.
“McKinney came down fairly recently from Division I to Division II,” Coppell coach Emily Doran said. “We called them a wild card, and we didn’t know what to expect. We heard a few things from other coaches, so we had an idea. But, we wanted to play our game which included heavy defense, cutting off all opportunities to get the ball through, and came up with the ball off the draw so we could maintain it.”
During the fourth quarter, Coppell had established a 15-6 lead thanks to senior Jewel Bryant. It was the largest gap Coppell would have over McKinney that night. It was also the last time Coppell would score. Doran credits the lead to practicing defense.
“During practice, we talked about making contact with people who cut through the eight meter,” Doran said. “We also broke down defense when they were playing man-on defense and pressure defense to cut off adjacents.”
However, that score would change as McKinney went on an uncontested run during the fourth quarter with four scores. As the score became 15-10, Coppell called a timeout.
“During timeout, we told the team it was still their game,” Doran said. “It always is. We used the timeout to breathe and resettle for the game. We know they can go really far this season. We put the words limitless on the back of their shooting shirts because their potential is truly limitless.”
Coppell plays Plano on Tuesday at Coppell Middle School North at 7:30 p.m.
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