“Rockwall shoots and scores!” is heard resounding through the stadium over and over again throughout the first quarter as Rockwall relentlessly buries the ball into the back of the net. Nearing the end of the first quarter, Rockwall junior Danielle Iadanza scores twice in a mere four minutes, widening the gap between Rockwall and Coppell.

Rockwall defeated Coppell, 23-9, on Saturday afternoon at Coppell Middle School North.

The first quarter lead was a warning sign for Coppell as Rockwall continued to dominate and deliver throughout the afternoon, maintaining its lead each quarter (7-1, 14-6,19-8, 23-9). 

Coppell struggled to work together as a team, missing passes during the game. 

“We were kind of forcing bad opportunities that we didn’t need to take,” Coppell senior Ally Gunnels said. 

It was not until the end of the game that the Cowgirls managed to pull themselves together and communicate effectively.

“One of the things that we did in the last five minutes and 41 seconds is we asked the girls to continue to play the game that we know that they’re capable of playing,” Coppell coach Emily Doran said. “Our attack did a really good job of reading the defending and three of them actually caused the turnover to allow Kylee Brandenburg, one of our midfielders, to successfully come up with the ball and she ended up scoring the last goal of the game off of that.”

The Cowgirls worked on keeping a positive attitude even as they trailed behind Rockwall and concentrated on developing their communication throughout the game. 

“We always do our best whenever we have a positive attitude,” Gunnels said. “Otherwise, it can be hard on us as a team and we can get in our own heads when it gets to a four or five goal differential.” 

As Coppell looks forward to its next game, fundamentals will be a main focus. 

“We are going to revisit some of the fundamental skills, so that way we are able to successfully transition the ball more efficiently and spend more time with possession on our end,” Doran said.

The Cowgirls will be working on keeping their basics strong to boost their efficiency in their next practices.

“It is those fundamentals of passing and catching – we need to make sure we tighten those up and get better at those before the rest of the season.” Gunnels said.

Coppell plays Lovejoy at Coppell Middle School North on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. 

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