Westwood Triumphs Over Cavaliers in Playoff Game 1-0

Lena Boas, Extras Editor| March 31, 2023

  • Kate Cooper ’24 and Sasha Brown ’23 hug each other and rejoice over the 1-0 win. After the game ended, the team ran towards the stands to celebrate with friends and family.

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  • Freshman Mia Wiele dribbles down midfield to pass the ball to another player at the goal. Throughout the game, Wiele shot a number of free kicks and corner kicks which set up many offensive plays for the Warriors.

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  • As the end of game buzzer sounded, players ran onto the field to rejoice together over the hard worked for win. The win meant that the team would advance to round two of state playoffs and play against the New Braunfels Unicorns.

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  • Braid swinging in the breeze, Abigail Burgett ’23 advances towards the goal with the ball. A few seconds later, she scored a goal which led to the Warrior’s win.

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  • The JV girls soccer team clap and cheer on the Warriors after the first goal. The varsity team made the sign together and wrote motivational messages to encourage each other to advance in the state playoffs.

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  • The student section jumps up with excitement after the first Warrior goal. With 20 minutes left in the first half, Abigail Burgett ’23 scored the goal that led to the decisive Warrior win.

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  • Keeping the ball close to her, Padt Skwratananond ’23 dribbles towards midfield. In a series of fakeouts, she ran past the other team and passed the ball to a forward.

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  • Waiting for the right moment to pressure the ball, Ella Toupin ’23 keeps an eye on the Cavalier. Once she gained ball control, she opened up her stance and passed the ball to the other side of the field.

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  • Midfielder Kate Cooper ’24 plants her foot to kick the ball into an open space. Later in the game, Cooper got fouled by a Cavalier and had a shoulder injury.

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  • Gabriella Zieglar ’23 heads the ball in the direction of her teammate to prevent the Cavaliers from advancing towards the goal. A few moments later, defender Kate Wyrick ’25 receives the ball and passes it down the line to another player.

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On Friday, March 25, the varsity girls’ soccer team advanced to the second round of state playoffs by winning 1-0 against the Lake Travis Cavaliers in an intense match. The game was held at Vandegrift and set off on a very competitive note.

As soon as the first half started, both teams were extremely determined to give everything they could to win and advance in the tournament. The Cavaliers tried to find gaps in the defense to dribble down the sidelines, but the Warriors blocked almost every shot on goal. Aggressive approaches from both sides led to multiple players getting injured.

The more the game progressed – so did the pressure for the Warriors to get the lead. Both teams fought hard and did not let up with their offensive plays. With 20 minutes left in the first half, Abigail Burgett ‘23 received the ball from a midfielder and dribbled down the field to score the first goal.

The energy from the stands was electrifying – many parents, teammates, and friends loudly voiced their support for the team. Although the game started right after school let out, there were many attendees to cheer on the girls to the state playoffs. The mens’ soccer team also came out to support and cheered for the girls while complaining about incorrect or missed calls. 

“It just wasn’t like every other game – it was during the day, we got to go out of school [early], and everyone was so hype,” JV goalkeeper Anneke Van Der Meer ‘25 said. “It was just so fun because we had a huge student section and we would love that for every game. Going to round two for the playoffs is awesome.”

After the goal from the Warriors, the Cavaliers had high ball possession and shot a goal near the beginning of the second half – which was offsides. Near the end of the game, the Warriors seemingly changed their approach from playing offensively and scoring goals to defending their lead in the game. Even though the Warriors were getting tired in the heat, they continued to give the game their all. As the buzzer sounded, marking the end of the game 1-0 for Westwood, the players rejoiced over attending the next round of state playoffs and ran to the stands to celebrate with friends and family.

“I think we played well, I mean we had an upset last year in the first round of playoffs and so going into [this game], we were really just focused on getting past the first round – it’s the hardest game to win,” goalie Atlee Olofson ‘23 said. “Everybody wanted to win on our team and I think that was the vibe we had in the locker room too, that everyone was going to work as hard as they can and pull through. Obviously we made mistakes – everyone made mistakes during the game but that’s what we focused on for the second round, was just to get all those kinks out so we can [advance].”

The Warriors competed against the New Braunfels Unicorns on Tuesday, March 28 at the Unicorn Stadium and won 2-1. The team will compete against Vandegrift this week for round three of the state playoffs.