Lady Texans soccer has strong start

The Lady Texan soccer team has started off the season strong sweeping a tournament in Kerrville to open the year.

After beating Bastrop in a scrimmage early last week, Wimberley beat St. Joseph’s 7-0. On Friday, Wimberley beat Marble Falls 4-0 before facing the tournament host Kerrville Tivy.

The Lady Texans started off strong with a goal by Izzy Frank in the first half.

“We probably could have been up by three at half, but we missed a few opportunities,” Head Coach Brinton Nute said. “They (Kerrville) came out in the second half, and had some opportunities to score also.”

Kerrville was held scoreless until a penalty kick with about four minutes left in the game. The score tied the game up 1-1, which sent the match into overtime. In this case, the game would be decided on penalty kicks. Each team gets five chances to score. Whichever team has the most points wins the game. Josie Deathrage, Gabi Perez and Laysa Molina scored to give Wimberley three points. On the final penalty kick for Kerrville, Goal Keeper Casey Crawford made a diving save to give Wimberley the victory 3-2 on penalty kicks.

This year’s team has high aspirations. After making the Regional Finals last year, the team returns six senior starters.

“That is over 50 percent of the starting lineup,” Nute said. “That is a huge boost for us. We have a lot of experience. This is the first group of seniors I have taken through for all four years. They have been to two Regional Finals, so they know what it takes to get to the Regional tournament. We have lost some key players, but we have some freshmen that have come in with Emily Thames and Izzy Frank. They have made a big difference, and I am excited to blend that experience and knowledge with the young abilities of the freshman. We have a good combination.”

Knowing his team had a wealth of experience, Nute created a tough schedule to prepare the team for a playoff push. After a game on Tuesday night against La Vernia, Wimberley will head to San Marcos for a tournament on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All of the games will be against larger schools from 5A or 6A competition.