PORTLAND — A first-half blitz was enough to make sure the District 29-5A girls soccer championship trophy was not going anywhere.
A three-goal flurry before the half propelled the Gregory-Portland girls soccer team to its seventh consecutive district championship, with a 3-0 blanking of Flour Bluff at Ray Akins Wildcat Stadium.
The Hornets showed their grit early in the second half, but even facing their most pressure, Gregory-Portland goalkeeper Kaitlyn Kilgore turned away several solid Flour Bluff shots to keep a clean slate and ensure her team would raise another gold soccer ball.
“We did a particularly good job pressing and counter-pressing high up the field,” Gregory-Portland girls soccer coach Casey Wyatt said. “That was a point of emphasis playing this team: try to win the ball high up field and mitigate any dangerous moments for our back line and I thought for the most part we did a good job with it.”
Gregory-Portland found the back of the net in the opening two minutes, before it was wiped off the board by an offside call.
Six minutes later Rebekah Nolen sent a shot high just under the cross bar for the 1-0 lead. Madison Kilgore converged with the Flour Bluff keeper chasing a ball and when the ball trickled through, Kilgore slotted it home for the 2-0 advantage before Taylor Baker capped the scoring with a goal in the 35th.
Flour Bluff coach Mario Lopez said his team showed fight in the second half, but dug itself too large of a hole in the first half.
“They definitely put us under pressure quite a bit,” Lopez said. “We didn’t have a very good start. We played much better in the second half. In a game like this, with this level of competition, that is not going to get it done.”
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Maintaining the tradition
Makenzie Ivie, who had two assists, said the expectations handed down from previous Lady Cats carry the team to success.
“We are expected to win,” Ivie said. “We work very hard and train hard. We expect to win district every year. It takes a lot of team building, team work, watching a lot of film … it takes a lot.”
Wyatt said there is a trickle down effect as the tradition with G-P girls soccer continues to build every year.
“A couple of words we used a lot this year are responsibility and expectation,” Wyatt said. “We feel like there was a ton of that. We felt like it was our responsibility to put in a championship-caliber performance. As difficult as it is every year, the expectation — at a minimum — is to lift this trophy.
“The girls deserve the most thanks for their work, along with the parents and coaches, including from the boys staff. I don’t think any is possible without their help.”
The Lady Cats earned the No. 1 seed and will look to schedule a playoff warm-up before opening the bi-district playoffs March 25. Flour Bluff earns the No. 2 seed from the district for the postseason.
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