Stratford vs. Cy-Fair High School - 01.23.24

On Tuesday January 23, 2024, your Varsity Girls Soccer Team opened District play on the road versus a tough 16th Ranked 6A-Region 3 Cy Fair High School Bobcat team at Ken Pridgeon Stadium. The match would get underway in very wet and gloomy conditions. The Spartans controlled possession right from the opening whistle. In the first 15 minutes of play, SHS would earn multiple corner kicks, but couldn’t convert on any of the tries. While the Spartans looked to be the better team, it was nearly halftime before they got on the board. As the first half was coming to a close, Sophomore Avery Rushing was subbed into the game and with two minutes remaining, Junior Mary Paul worked the middle of the field and sent the ball over to the left side to Junior Ryann Weber, who headed the ball downfield to Rushing on the run up the middle. Rushing was able to evade the last defender and beat the goalie one-on-one to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. There were a lot of scoring opportunities in the first half and it seemed to be a boost of confidence to get one in the net before halftime.

It didn’t take long for that confidence to kick in the second half, as just 12 minutes in, Sophomore Sara Benton wound up and fired a shot from distance that the Bobcat goalie had to punch up and over the goal to keep the ball from going in. Not long after, in the 57th minute, the crowd witnessed three Spartan shots, one after another – none of which could find their mark. That wouldn’t last long though as Junior Ryann Weber made a run up the right side and sent a beautiful pass through two defenders to Paul, who smoked a shot inside the left post, to take the score to 2-0. Then, just a minute later, Weber would be fouled just outside the box and earn a penalty kick that was taken by Benton… and just like the previous game, there was no question that Benton’s shot would find its mark. Benton wound up and fired a hard shot to the top right corner to increase the lead to 3-0.

The back line of Freshman Natalie Goodwin, Freshman Zoe Lawless, Junior Hannah Ryan, and Junior Whitney Bui continued to shut down the Cy Fair offense repeatedly all night. This was evident when the first Bobcat shot on goal didn’t come until the 64th minute. With less than 10 minutes left in the match, Cy Fair would attempt to clear an offensive attack by SHS, but Rushing was able to kick the ball back over her head toward the Bobcat goal, where Weber would take possession and float a soft shot over the charging goalie to take the lead to 4-0. As the clock was ticking down to zero, the green and white would earn a corner kick that was taken by Paul. The Junior Captain would opt to make a short pass to our uncovered outside back, Whitney Bui. Bui was a good distance out, but got off a clean hard shot that would carry just over the goalie’s glove to the far right corner to close out the game 5-0.

This was a great team victory. All of the players continued to play their hearts out even though they couldn’t find the back of the net in the early going. That ‘never give up’ attitude paid off handsomely as it all came together in the second half with a barrage of shots and scoring.

Stratford vs. Cy Creek High School - 01.26.24

The Spartans returned to their home field for only the third time this season to host Cy Creek on Friday night under the lights. From the opening whistle, Stratford controlled possession and started putting pressure on the Cy Creek defense. In the 8th minute, Junior Mary Charlotte Paul would be the first to really test the Cy Creek keeper, firing a shot on goal from distance only to be denied by a great diving save by the keeper. Over the next few minutes of the match, the Cy Creek keeper would make two more great saves on shots by Freshman Natalie Goodwin and Sophomore Sara Benton before Freshman Audrey Brendel would dribble through the Cy Creek defense and place a great shot toward the back post to give Stratford a 1-0 lead and earn her first goal as a Spartan.

Only a few minutes later, Benton found space on the left side dribbling through defenders before sliding a ball across the field to Freshman Sophia Beviacqua, who beat the keeper, also scoring her first goal for Stratford. In the 24th minute of the match, it would be Junior Allison Goodwin making a run down the right side of the field and playing a perfect cross to the center of the box where Sophomore Avery Rushing one-touched the ball into the back of the net. Paul was the next to create an opportunity for the Spartans, beating numerous Cy Creek defenders before sliding a dangerous ball all the way across the box to Beviacqua, who hit a banger with her left foot just inside the left post, leaving the keeper standing flat footed with no chance to make a save.

Just 8 minutes into the second half, Natalie Goodwin would play to Benton, who was able to beat a Cy Creek defender and get a great cross off to the back post where Sophomore Sydney Valentine was able to beat the keeper to stretch the Spartan lead out even further. Only a few minutes later, Senior Cassidy Syamken would be the next Spartan to get into the action with a great give-and-go with a streaking Benton in the middle of the field,  who beat the Cy Creek keeper on the near post. Minutes later, Paul would dribble through the Cy Creek defense in the middle of the field and play a through ball to Beviacqua, who would score just inside the near post, completing her hat trick! With 10 minutes left in the game, Brendel would win back possession for the Spartans and find Freshman Juliana Molinas, who connected with Benton, who played a through ball to Rushing, who gave it back to Benton right in front of the goal but instead of shooting, laid the ball off to a waiting Valentine, who finished a great team goal. In the closing minutes of the match, Senior Piper Miller would combine with Molinas, Benton, and finally Rushing to score the ninth goal of the match for the Spartans.

Great week for the Stratford defenders and goalkeepers, Junior Liv Harbison and Freshman Addie Greenway. The Spartans improve to 2-0 in District play and will travel to Northbrook High School for their next match on January 31st at 7:15 pm. Come out and support this dynamic team!