Joseph Krum
Staff Writer
@joseph_krum

After a big 9-0 win against Duncanville in the first round of the girls 6A State soccer playoffs, the Cowgirls look to try and advance against Plano West at 7:15 at Hebron High School.

Plano West, who defeated the Keller Indians 3-1 to advance against Coppell, has a strong team according to soccer coach Chris Stricker.

“It’s going to be like two heavyweight UFC fighters going at it,” Stricker said. “Both teams have good pace and a great defense. Even though our team chemistry is probably better and we have Sarah King up top, they have five D1 commits and the seniors have gone to the state championship all three years, winning it twice. Any team that has the mental toughness to get to the state finals three years in a row, they’re talented and they know what they need to do.”

The Cowgirls, who are lead in scoring by senior forward and Baylor-commit Sarah King with 23 goals on the season, score an average of 3.8 goals per game. With all of these goals, the Cowgirls do not just have one way of doing things.

“We’ve been scoring a lot of different ways as of recent,” Stricker said. “We have scored off of corners, crosses, breakaways and just lots of ways. The good thing about being a coach for a team like this is we don’t just do one thing well, and if the other team takes that away we’re done, we have lots of different weapons. As far as confidence in scoring, the girls have that and that means a lot.”

The Cowgirls have a well-balanced team, with even four freshman, has dominated the regular season to put them in a position to advance deep into the playoffs. With the second best defense in all the public schools, the Cowgirls have many players who can step up.

With a few injuries and girls stepping up, Stricker is confident for the game tonight.

“[Freshman forward] Tyler Runnels has been battling an ankle injury, and she didn’t play against Duncanville in the first round,” Stricker said. “She is a key cog in the middle, and she’s important. [Sophomore] Tori Teffeteller is going to be an X-factor for us. She has stepped up all season, and she had a huge game against Southlake, the hardest team we played this year. So for her to step up in that magnitude of a game, we’re just hoping she can do that again.”