Photo by VYPE Media's Bradley Collier.
The 2020 Texas high school girls soccer season is here, so you're probably wondering who the UIL and TAPPS teams to watch are in the San Antonio area. Check out today's VYPE coverage. To buy other team and individual photos from the 2020 VYPE San Antonio Preseason Soccer Photoshoot, click here.
We start in the state's highest classification because another competitive San Antonio area race is expected for the 2020 season. A year ago, 12 area programs advanced to the postseason and six won a playoff game. Among those were Alamo City leaders and North East ISD rivals San Antonio Johnson and San Antonio Reagan, who finished in the UIL 6A Region IV quarterfinal round.
But, it's also time to set new highs in the new year and decade. Obviously, the 2020 discussion will start with the Jaguars and Rattlers, but they aren't the only teams to watch. Schertz Clemens is a squad on everybody's radar because it's coming off a 2019 trip to the second round of the UIL postseason. The Buffaloes' deep roster, which is headlined by Simone Sheridan, Alexandra Rudd, Kelsey Ayers and Isabella Salazar, will make them a power.
Another force is San Antonio LEE, who won a 2019 playoff game like San Antonio Clark, New Braunfels Canyon and the other teams mentioned above. The Volunteers have the necessary players in Rice commit Jen Jackson and Texas Tech commit Kameron Kloza to make 2020 a year to remember.
Another squad to keep an eye on is New Braunfels. The Unicorns recorded a bi-district finish in 2019 and have the necessary players in Dana Hanson, Melida Garza and Caitlyn Hernandez to make more noise in 2020.
UIL 5A will be a can't-miss classification because it features an area trio of regional tournament programs from a season ago. We start with Alamo Heights because the motivated Mules want to surpass their Region IV final loss. As they push for a similar run in 2020, look for Abby Wagner, Morgan Musgrove and Sophia Connelly to lead the charge on the field.
Boerne Champion is another program that will be hard to push around. The Chargers advanced to the UIL 5A Region IV quarterfinal like San Antonio Southwest in 2019, and will lean on Reese Burkey and college commits Ashlyn Fulgham and Taylor Wieland in their run at a better finish in 2020.
UIL 4A may be the state's smallest public school soccer classification, but that doesn't take away from the talent and excitement in it. Wimberley is coming off a trip to the 2019 UIL 4A Region IV final and will remain a force in 2020 because of Casey Crawford and Holly Harwood.
Boerne is another program to watch because it's coming off a run to the UIL 4A Region IV quarterfinal. The Greyhounds' speedy gameplay will give opponents trouble in matches, and Alexis Truitt and Brianna Barrera will be credible players on the field. Those factors will help them battle the likes of 2019 regional semifinalists Beeville Jones and Pleasanton.
And don't overlook Gonzales because the Apaches have two important factors going in their favor. The first is the strong trio made up by Veronica Moreno, Sandra Palacios and Reyna Martinez. The other is their bi-district playoff experience from a year ago.
In TAPPS, Schertz St. John Paul II Catholic will find success in the private school field. Expect the Guardians to give Emilie Rompel and Mia Heyburn notable roles in their season charge.
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MEMORIAL – Newman Lay standing just in front of the Memorial bench watched as everything came together in perfect harmony.
Watching Gaston Elie make smooth bounce passes across the court to a wide-open Grayson Buehler for a three, Ethan Taylor switching from his left dribble hand to his right to stretch out his 6-foot-5 frame and kiss the ball off the glass for a bucket to the defense locking down one of the hotter teams in Houston was "beautiful" to watch.
"It's a ballet offensively and a ballet dance defensively, because we're working together," Lay said after a 77-66 victory over Cy-Fair on Tuesday night. "It's five guys offensively doing their thing. Defensively, it's five guys rotating, helping and stunting – it's poetry."
Unlike their first meeting with Cy-Fair, which Memorial was able to win 54-46 to open District 17-6A play in December, the Mustangs (19-7, 8-1 in district) came out locked in from the opening tip.
The hot-hand of Taylor, who finished with a team-high 36 points and surpassed 400 points for the season, started them early. Buehler's big three's sent them to a 25-10 first-quarter lead.
"When we have the whole team going, it's a great feeling," Taylor said. "Everybody's clicking, I was going, Grayson (Buehler) was going. We had our whole team playing well. That's one of the best feelings."
Cy-Fair (18-8, 7-2), which saw its 12-game winning streak ended on Tuesday, started to climb back in the second quarter but couldn't prevent a 43-25 halftime score.
"I thought our pace offensively was better," Lay said. "The first time we played them we were slower but we were forcing shots. Today, we were faster but we were taking open shots. I thought our pace was better but secondly, our defense was really locked in. The first time we played them we didn't lock in defensively until the second half. Tonight, we locked in from the start."
Despite leading 55-40 at the end of the third quarter, Cy-Fair - behind Evan Butts' 14 points and Nik Ellis' 23 points - battled its way back to within six with two minutes to go. Clutch free throws down the stretch ended up being enough for Memorial in the 11-point victory.
"That's what we like to do, we like to share the ball as a team, get everyone involved," Elie, who finished with 19 points, said. "We have players that can put the ball in the hoop, so we just need to focus on defense. I think we can win district this year."
So, let's talk about District 17-6A.
With the win, Memorial goes a leg up on Cy-Fair for sole possession of first place at 8-1 its lone loss is to Cy Creek, while Cy-Fair falls into a tie for second with Cy Creek at 7-2 and Jersey Village is 6-3 at fourth place.
"It gives us a lot of confidence," Taylor said. "Going into the rest of our games we're going to keep that fire under us. Just try to keep it rolling through district."
With a rivalry game set up for Friday against Stratford on the horizon at the Don Coleman Coliseum, Lay doesn't want to see his team get complacent because of one big home win.
The veteran coach wants his guys to "go to bed with a smile" after this one, but in the morning, they need to wake up ready to work.
"It's time to stay hungry," Lay said. "Have confidence with what you just did because you just beat an exceptional basketball team. But now, we need to get hungry again. We need to be hungry for a long time."
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