GAMES
RANKINGS
HISTORIC RIDE: SPX Girls Soccer Reaches First-Ever State Championship Match
LAURA FLORES STOOD ALONG THE SIDELINE AND STARED TOWARDS THE GAME CLOCK.
Wearing a black St. Pius X soccer long-sleeved shirt and rocking her SPX hat backwards, Flores counted down the seconds. With just a few seconds left, the second-year coach started to run onto the field. By the time the horn sounded, and the rest of her team rushed on in celebration, the coach had reached her goalie Sarah Woods.
Flores embraced Woods.They had just defeated St. Agnes Academy 2-1 in the TAPPS Division I State Semifinals to punch the program’s first-ever ticket to a State Championship match.
“When we first got together with this team, we understood that we had a really good squad,” Flores said. “We have been working hard. They put their hearts and souls into this.
“These kids mean a lotto me. They have changed my life.”
In the State Semifinals match it was junior Corrine Ward’s corner-kick goal–which she scored unassisted into the wind – that made the difference.
“We’ve come a long way,” Ward said. “Last year we did OK but we really wanted to improve. This year, we hit our goal to make it to the State Championship.”
Jackie Lesmeister added: “It was so exciting. We put a whole lot into this season and to see it all pay off feels great.”
Getting through a rigorous regular season schedule, then the playoffs is not easy.
But according to Ward, what held this team together through the ups and downs that naturally come with a season was their bond.
“We’re all best friends on and off the field, which makes it easier to play with each other,” she said. “Everyone on her contributed.”
St. Pius X went on to fall short of winning the TAPPS Division I State Championship, falling to John Paul II, 2-0.
Despite falling short of their goal, Flores said that bond that had been there all year long never wavered and will carry them into 2023.
“This was a great season for them,” Flores said. “You can see, even just after we lost in the State Championship, you can see the energy. You can see they’re so together. I’m so proud of every single one of these kids. They show up to practice everyday, they put in the hard work. This is what every soccer team wants, an opportunity to play at State.
“They came here. They showed up andI couldn’t be prouder of them.”
TURNING THE PAGE: SPX Senior Tennis Star Leaves Legacy, Ready For College Level
IN THE GAME OF TENNIS, PLAYERS ARE ALWAYS EVOLVING.
“I think it’s more mental,” Jefferson Page said. “My freshman and sophomore year I was running more on instinct. Now, I’m more mature and more focused. Every shot I hit is more calculated.”
For the St. Pius X senior, the evolution of his game on the hard top over his years donning the black and orange has translated into an ultra-successful high school career.
This past spring it culminated with a trip to the TAPPS 6A State Tennis Tournament for a second-straight year. Page reached the State Semifinals at the Waco Regional Tennis Center in April after defeating Joshua Sal and of Parish Episcopal (7-5, 6-0) and Marcos Gonzalez of El Paso Cathedral High School (6-0, 6-0).
Page’s success on the tennis court over the years also garnered collegiate attention and this year he signed with Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.
“It was surreal,” Page said of signing to play college tennis. “I knew I could do it, I knew it was going to eventually happen. But when you do it, it’s like ‘man, I really did this’. I’ve got four more years to keep playing, so that’s great.
“I love Atlanta. What I want to do academically was there and just the overall community there was great. So it seemed like the place for me.”
Page, whose favorite professional tennis player to watch is Rafael Nadal, knows he needs to continue to get stronger and continue to improve his game as he takes the next step to the college level.
As he walks away from St. Pius X,Page’s final piece of advice to future tennis players for the Panthers is three words – trust the process.
“It’s going to be tough,” Page said. "Just keep working, put in the work and you can do anything in tennis here at St. Pius X.”