Your Lady Spartans are looking to make a deep run into the 2025 State Playoffs, and with the loss of only one senior starter from last year’s squad, they have their minds set on ending this season in Austin battling for a State Championship in April.

vs. Pearland High School - 12.13.24

With that said, the pre-season kicked off on Friday, December 13th, and your Varsity Girls Spartan Soccer Team (ranked 10th overall in the State pre-season rankings) hosted the Pearland High School Oilers. On a wet and cold night, it wouldn’t take long for the girls to pick up where they left off last season. In the 7th minute of this opening match, Senior – Hannah Ryan made a run up the right side finding Senior – Allison Goodwin, who took two quick touches and centered the ball to the front of the goal where Senior – Mary Charlotte Paul was waiting, and with a quick flick, the green and white had their first goal of the 2024-25 season. It wouldn’t be long before the home team crowd would have something to cheer for again when Freshman – Hannah Hewitt made a quick pass in the middle of the field to Junior – Avery Rushing, who was wide open and fired a 25-yard shot inside the right post to go up 2-0. At the 16’ minute mark, it was once again the duo of Paul and Goodwin, but this time it was a great pass from Paul up the middle of the field to a streaking Goodwin, who beat the goalie one-on-one to add a third Spartan goal to the total. Paul wasn’t done with the assists to Goodwin though, as she once again crossed a perfect ball up the left side, where Goodwin quickly found the back of the net. The Spartans would add one more in the first half when in the 24th minute, Ryan was making a run up the right side and was fouled,  earning the referee’s whistle and setting up a penalty shot that was taken by Paul. Paul’s shot would find the inside corner of the right post and would put the Spartans up 5-0 going into halftime.

It wouldn’t take the Lady Spartans much time to get warmed up again after the intermission -- only two minutes into the re-start of play, Rushing pounced on a mishandled ball by the Oiler’s keeper and quickly fired it past her to increase the lead to 6-0. Quickly after this score, in the 44th minute, Paul took a corner kick from the right side and put the ball right in front of the goal, where Senior – Ryann Weber put a foot on it and got her first goal of the season and the seventh of the match. Ten minutes later at the 54’ minute mark, Weber would return the favor with a lead pass up the middle to Paul, who hit a long 26-yard shot inside the left post to push the score to 8-0 and add another hat trick to her resume.

In the 57th minute, the Spartans notched their last goal of the night when Weber made a run up the right side and placed a great lead pass out in front of Rushing, who finished with a quick left-footed shot inside the left post to take the total to 9-0. In the 60th minute, the head referee whistled the game over as a mercy rule was applied to end the match early and put the first win on the board for the Lady Spartans. What a great start to the 2024-2025 season!

vs. Cy Ranch High School - 12.17.24

Your Varsity Girls Spartan Soccer Team traveled to Cy Ranch High School to battle the Mustangs on Tuesday night in their second scrimmage of the year. The Mustangs (ranked #11 in Region 2 in pre-season rankings) came ready to play on their home field, finding themselves under pressure early against the Spartan attack. While the Spartans controlled possession, the Mustangs kept numbers back and limited any Spartan scoring chances. The first great opportunity of the evening happened with some great combination play amongst Seniors – Ryann Weber, Hannah Ryan, and Allison Goodwin, who found a streaking Junior – Sydney Valentine, but unfortunately the shot in traffic rattled off the right post and out of danger. The game would remain scoreless at the half despite the Spartans outshooting Cy Ranch nine to zero.

Nine minutes into the second half, Goodwin would win possession and drive around the right side of the Mustang defense, driving to the end line before crossing the ball to the top of the box where Valentine would open the scoring for the Spartans. In the 59th minute of the match, a Cy Ranch center back played an errant pass to an unmarked Goodwin in the middle of the field. As the Mustangs scrambled to double team Goodwin, she found an unmarked Valentine on the left side, who would immediately rip a shot from the top of the box into the top right corner of the goal to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead. The Mustangs would respond with their first shot of the match in response, but a quick turnover turned into another combination play for the Spartans. Senior – Mary Charlotte Paul gained possession for the Spartans by playing the ball up to Weber, who found Junior – Sara Benton. Benton played a great ball into space for Goodwin, who beat the Cy Ranch defense down the right side before shooting on goal. The goalie was able to deflect Goodwin’s shot, but Valentine was there to put another in the back of the net for the Spartans. Two minutes later, Sophomore – Juliana Molinas played the ball to Benton, who juked out a defender to get a cross off that ended up at the feet of Sophomore – Audrey Brendel, who shot to the top left corner, but the Cy Ranch keeper was able to make the save.

With fifteen minutes left in the game, Brendel earned a corner that Paul took and sent to the middle of the box. Senior – Elizabeth Byrd got her shoulder on the ball and redirected the corner just wide of the net. In the final minutes of the game, the Mustangs played a through-ball to a speedy striker who ran onto the ball behind the Spartans back line, putting her one-on-one versus the Spartan goalkeeper, Sophomore – Addie Greenway. Greenway made a quick decision to come out and force the action, making a great save to keep a clean sheet and give the Spartans a 3-0 road win against another tough team in the Houston area.

vs. Katy Jordan High School - 12.19.24

The Spartans have had this rematch of last year’s third-round playoff game circled since suffering a heartbreaking loss in penalty kicks versus Jordan last year. Currently, Stratford and Jordan are the two highest ranked teams in Houston and are both ranked in the top 10 in the State, setting the stage for an early season battle of Houston soccer heavyweights.

The Spartans' first opportunity was started by Senior – Whitney Bui in the 20th minute. She played a beautiful through-ball up to Senior – Allison Goodwin, who was able to blow by the Jordan defense and get a shot off that went just wide of the far post. A few minutes later, Junior – Sydney Valentine intercepted the ball in Jordan territory and drew the attention of numerous Jordan defenders when she slotted a ball through the defense to a streaking Goodwin, who got a shot on goal but a deflection sent it wide of the net. With eight minutes remaining in the half, Sophomore – Sophia Beviaqua found Senior - Mary Charlotte Paul, who fired a dangerous shot to the top right corner of the net, but the Jordan keeper was just able to get her fingertips on it to push it up and over the crossbar. Paul took the subsequent corner and sent an in-swinging ball into the box, where Senior – Ryann Weber was able to get her head on the ball and redirect it into the Jordan goal to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

Just before the half, Jordan earned a free kick just outside of the Stratford box. Jordan put a hard shot on frame, but Senior – Olivia Harbison made the save. A few minutes later, on a Jordan corner kick, Harbison came up big again by punching the ball wide. The Stratford defenders put on a show throughout the first half, Seniors – Hannah Ryan, Bui, Sophomores – Zoe Lawless, Audrey Brendel, and Freshman – Hannah Hewitt, shutting down a talented Jordan offense.

In the second half of the match, Stratford continued to control possession and put pressure on the Jordan defense. In the 55th minute of the match, Goodwin was fouled near the sideline outside of the Jordan box. On the subsequent free kick, Paul played a ball on the ground to Weber, who was able to redirect to the ball on frame, but a sliding Jordan keeper was able to deflect the ball just wide of the goal. Jordan tried to get something going in the 60th minute. When a goal kick made its way all the way up the field to an extremely fast Jordan winger, Senior – Hannah Haygood came over to shut down the opportunity with a slide tackle. The best chance in the half for the Spartans came in the 73rd minute when Senior – Elizabeth Byrd was fouled deep in Jordan territory. Paul would put the free kick into the box, and Junior – Madison Gallerano redirected the ball toward an empty net, but a Jordan defender cleared the ball just before it crossed the line. In the closing seconds of the match, Jordan pushed numbers forward looking for the equalizer. They would find it with 22 seconds left, tying the Spartans 1-1 in the final scrimmage of the season.

Despite the draw, the Spartans controlled the match, dominating possession and scoring chances. The Spartans outshot the Warriors 15-4 and had 13 corners versus just two for Jordan. The Spartans will continue their extremely difficult pre-season slate on December 30th at 7:15 pm versus The Woodlands at home. Come out and support this talented team!