North Texas played host to over 80 youth and high school teams from all over the state this past weekend in the 2014 Halloween Shootout Lacrosse Tournament held at the McKinney Soccer Complex at Craig Ranch. As the fastest growing youth sport in the country, lacrosse has found a strong following in Texas and Coppell is quickly making a case as one of the best high school varsity clubs in the region. Last season, the Hockaday Daisy’s (2nd seed) and the Cowgirls (5th seed) represented the North District in the 6-team Division 1 State Championship tournament held in Houston. With strong senior leadership and a gifted sophomore class, Coppell managed a quarterfinal win over St. Stephens before falling to Lamar in the semi-final round. This year, the Cowgirls hope to surpass their previous successes and bring home their first state championship. And although the regular season is still three months away, the team’s 7 to 4 win over a talented HLax Club team from Hockaday in the Shootout Finale might just provide a sneak preview of what the Cowgirls are capable of in 2015.
With several significant contributors from last year’s squad returning, the Cowgirls used their maturity and athleticism to control time of possession and the scoreboard throughout the 5 game – 2 day event. Victories over 22 Lacrosse Austin and Flower Mound on Saturday, along with a win over Kingwood on Sunday morning, positioned the Cowgirls as the top seed in the 4-team varsity division playoff held Sunday afternoon. As was the case in last spring’s North District tournament, the Cowgirls faced off against the Lady Scots from Highland Park in their semi-final match before meeting HLax in the Final. Coppell junior midfielder Delaney Dendy provided strong draw control as the Cowgirls’ face-off specialist and added 5 goals, while junior defenders Kailey Rivera and Morgan Widner kept constant pressure on their opponents as the trio combined for 40 groundballs over the course of the weekend. Junior Mia Harp led all Coppell scorers with 13 goals on just 16 shots, junior Ashley Bartlett added another 10 goals, and junior Charlotte Hayden poured in 8 more as Coppell demonstrated the most explosive attack line of all the varsity teams in the field.
With the loss of Coppell’s only varsity goalie to graduation, one of the biggest question marks coming into this year was defending the goal. Sophomore Emily Edens, last year’s junior varsity goalie, and junior Berkeley Bonneau, a recent recruit to the position, split time between the pipes for the Cowgirls and both did remarkably well. Aided by a disciplined slide defense that repeatedly frustrated opposing attackers, Edens tallied 10 saves and Bonneau added another 5 in preserving late game leads during both playoff games.
Head Coach Molly Ford, when asked about her team, said “Basically, with just a month of practice, the girls came together to play as a team, especially considering the intermixing of new players to the varsity…the girls rose to the occasion. They are starting to expect to win.” In just her 3rd season as Coppell’s coach, Ford has taught her team more than just lacrosse fundamentals. The Cowgirls are now finishing games strong and believing in their teammates as they look to post their 4th straight winning season and advance once against to the state playoffs.
Those who have yet to experience the excitement and drama of a high school lacrosse game should make plans now to take in a Cowboys or Cowgirls’ game this season. The Coppell Lacrosse Association hosts all of its boys and girls’ home games at Lesley Field (CMS West) and will feature some of the most exciting matchups of high school talent in the state. Regular season games will begin in early February and continue through the end of April with District and State Tournaments following in May. There’s no better entertainment value in all of high school sports, so come out and cheer on your Coppell Lacrosse teams to Victory this spring.
GO COWBOYS!!