Screams float through the air as hugs and celebrations take over the field. The gold ball trophy comes out and the girls take a sigh of relief as another soccer powerhouse in the state falls at the hands of the Lady T-Wolves. Although a celebration, they all knew it was time to focus and lock in to prepare to take on a familiar foe.
The varsity girls soccer team will take on the Rouse Raiders at Bible Stadium at 7 p.m. tonight for the Regional Quarterfinal playoff game. The winner of this game will face the winner of McAllen Memorial vs. Flour Bluff.
“We’ve honestly been preparing for this game since the beginning of the year,” junior forward and team captain Meredith Koltz said. “It’s a district team and it’s a team that we’ve been determined to beat for a long time.”
The team has not beat the Raiders since Koltz has been playing at the high school level. Koltz said that despite the rivalry, the team has a lot of respect for Rouse.
“We love their girls,” Koltz said. “We love their coaching staff, but it’s a team that is extremely talented and if you beat them, it just shows how good of a team you are.”
The T-Wolves beat top ranked Smithson Valley Rangers 2-1 with a winning goal from Sofia Peters, as well as the undefeated Alamo Height Mules in the first and second round. While Koltz said the underdog mentality is keeping the team ready for more, senior attacking middle Frances Tran, said it’s a morale boost for the team.
“I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going in with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”
Tickets can be purchased here for the game. Koltz said support from the student body at the game will be important to the success of the soccer team tonight.
“I think it’s going to be a really, really good game,” Koltz said. “Not high scoring for either team, but it’s going to be really tight. Honestly we just need people to be there, be loud, just be proud to be a part of Cedar Park and not a part of Rouse and show them that we have a better support system and a better team.”