Sixty minutes of play. 15 goals. An average of one goal every four minutes.
Tuesday, the Coppell girls soccer team defeated Denton Braswell, 15-0, at Buddy Echols Field, forcing the Senior Night match to end early in accordance with the UIL mercy rule, which mandates that a soccer match must end if a team leads with eight or more goals with 20 minutes remaining.
The momentum started when senior midfielder Rachel Mathew took a penalty kick less than five minutes into the first half, setting the foothold for the Cowgirls to take the lead.
“I think it got us an early start to the game and boosted our morale,” Mathew said.
Coppell attacked the Bengals defense with a barrage of offensive tactics, taking advantage of the Bengals’s high defensive line by utilizing through passes and making crosses into the box, aggressively bringing the game right into the Braswell goal.
“We were able to control the possession of the game and make them play chase,” Coppell coach Craig Able said.
As the first half concluded, spectators looked past the field to a shining scoreboard showing the Cowgirls in a 10-0 lead.
Senior forward Neerali Kapadia was an instrumental part of this process, securing a hat trick and providing ample opportunities through the Cowgirl right wing.
“I like playing on the wing because it gives me the chance to get in and score goals but also create lots of opportunities for my teammates, play them balls and give them chances to score,” Kapadia said.
Within the last minute of the match, senior midfielder Rachel Mathew wrapped up Coppell’s goal scoring tirade by bringing the lead to 15-0.
The Senior Night matchup was topped off by every senior on the team being able to score at least once.
The match has proven the Cowgirls’ dominance in the box and their ability to effectively take control of the field, things that Able sees as part of a larger habit the team has been mastering.
“We just want to keep doing the things that we do to make it successful and keep putting our best foot forward each night,” Able said. “This district is an incredibly competitive district, so we know Flower Mound is going to be a super intense game on Friday.”
Coppell faces Flower Mound 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Neal Wilson Stadium.
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