RICHARDSON – As Coppell and Plano East stepped onto the field, both were chasing breakthroughs in their programs. Plano East, coming off of a 15-year playoff drought, hoped to cement itself as a competitor. Coppell, having lost in the first round of playoffs for the past six years, hoped to break its cycle.

In the Class 6A Division I bi-district matchup between opponents vying for similar goals, the Cowgirls ultimately came out with a 4-1 victory over the Panthers at Mustang-Eagle Stadium on Friday.

”This was a big win for us,” junior forward Neerali Kapadia said. “We haven’t had a playoff win in so long, and now we have the momentum that this is our year.”

Despite scoring four goals by the end, Coppell led, 1-0, at halftime. With a finish from Kapadia being the only goal of the half for either team, the team struggled to keep the composure on the ball in the first half.

”In the beginning, we kind of panicked a little bit,” Kapadia said. “We were not really connecting passes as much but once we got into the flow of it, we really got it.”

In the second half, Coppell built its lead through finishes from sophomore midfielder Logan Kutchins and senior midfielder Summer Chen’s goals, along with an own goal from Plano East. Despite letting in one goal from a free kick, Coppell’s defense in the final third stood strong against Plano East’s attacks throughout the match.

“Plano East’s No. 3 [senior Payten Cooper] is going to UCLA, so we knew they were super talented up top,” Coppell coach Craig Able said. “For us to be able to shut her down and limit their chances felt good.”

As Coppell prepares to face Lake Highlands in the area playoff, it hopes to continue its momentum by improving on the basics.

“We’re a possession-based team,” Able said. ”We pride ourselves on controlling the ball and the field, and I don’t think our possession was as good as it has been this year. It’s going to need to be better going forward.

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