Second Half Miscues End Lady Hawks Season

4/1/11 – For the third year in a row, the Lady Coyotes have ousted Birdville from the UIL state soccer playoffs.  Things got off to a rocky start at CH Collins Athletic Complex for the Lady Hawk as they found themselves facing a 1-0 deficit less than a minute into their match against Wichita Falls.  It served as a wakeup call for Birdville and they went on to dominate the first period by controlling the run of play with constant pressure on the Lady Coyote net.

Old High used their speed to get behind the Birdville defense with a ball up the left touchline only fifty-five seconds in and played a cross to the back post that found another Lady Coyote for the 1-0 lead.  For the remainder of the first half the defense managed to get anything in the defensive third forward and Sami Moore and Emily Sumrall controlled the midfield against the aggressive play of the Old High attackers. McKenna Jetton, Stephanie Sorrells and Jade Wear controlled the ball up top, but were not able to convert until the 24:08 mark when Sorrells sent a left footed cross in from the right touchline to Wear twelve yards out.  Wear’s shot was deflected by the keeper and Jetton put the rebound off the cross bar.  Moore was following up and chipped the keeper from the top of the eighteen to tie things at one.  Injuries to Wear and Captain Macie McGuffin put Birdville in a bit of a defensive mode for the remanider of the half.

The second half was a different story.  The Lady Hawks could not match the intensity of the Lady Coyotes from the start.  Like the first half, they wasted little time in getting the go ahead goal by taking another ball down the left touchline and getting a shot on frame.  Birdville keeper Lexi Stinson went up and punched the ball out to the twenty, but could not get up in time to stop the follow-up shot.  The goal put Old High up 2-1 with 37:21 remaining.  Birdville’s offense tried to put some heat on the goal, but never could mount a serious test for the second half Old High keeper.  Midway into the half one of the Lady Coyote attackers took a ball at midfield and outraced the defense to a one v one with Stinson at the eighteen.  She was able to get by her and get the easy tap in for the 3-1 lead with 20:24 left in Birdville’s season.  Less than eleven minutes later, Stinson was unable to find a corner kick that was headed out in front of the goal and was no match for the two v one against two of Old High’s best strikers inside her six directly in front of her.  With the 4-1 lead, the celebration started on the Lady Coyote bench.  They will face Mansfield Summitt either Monday or Tuesday for the right to advance to the Region 1 tournament at their home field April 8 & 9.  Birdville ends their season at 26-3-0 while tying the state single season team shutout record and shattering the school record for goals scored and assists.     GAME PHOTOS

Lady Hawks Tie Record – Wear Goes on a Tear

03/28/11 – Madi Abbott found pay dirt only 53 seconds into the contest against the Lady Bulldogs of Burkburnett this evening in the Area round played in Decatur, and it proved to be the only goal the Lady Hawks would need to advance to the Sectional round of the UIL state soccer playoffs against the winner of Wichita Falls and Aledo later this week.  The defense added to their shutout total and tied the UIL single season team shutout record of 24 in the process.  Jade Wear did her part to make sure the offense was not overshadowed by scoring the next four goals after assisting on Abbott’s and getting the assist on the next in what turned out to be the most prolific individual one game scoring output in Lady Hawk history.

Birdville took the opening kickoff and moved the ball around the midfield until Emily Sumrall found Wear to the keeper’s right at the top of the eighteen.  Wear didn’t have a shot when she turned with the ball, but found Abbott cutting across the face of the goal and Abbott was able to beat the keeper for the 1-0 lead at the 39:07 mark.  With 34:39 left in the first half, Tiffany Dang took the ball deep into the corner to the goalie’s right and put a negative ball at Sorrell’s feet around twenty-one out.  Sorrells fed Wear just inside the penalty mark, but Wear’s shot was blocked by the keeper.  Wear stayed with the ball and got another touch on it into the net to give Birdville the 2-0 lead.  Just 5:27 later, Abbott took a ball down the right touch line and pulled up with a perfectly played cross into the six yard box.  Again, Wear was there to stick it in the net; this time on a header past the outstretched arms of the Lady Bulldog goalie to make it 3-0.  The Hat Trick was completed with 5:20 remaining in the half when Dang was unable to get a shot off after she took the ball in just left of the penalty spot, but found Wear off to the right on a short little square pass that Wear buried from six out for the 4-0 advantage.  Wear wasn’t through with her first half outburst as she took a negative ball 21 out from Sorrells with only 4.3 seconds left in the period to give the Lady Hawks a 5-0 halftime lead.  Birdville didn’t wait much longer into the second half to get started than they did in the first.  It was Wear again finding the open team mate, but this time it was Sorrells from about thirty-five out.  Sorrells carried the ball past a couple defenders inside the six and beat the keeper to her left to make it 6-0 with 38:40 remaining.  Birdville lit up the scoreboard for the final time with 16:15 left when Macie McGuffin found Loren Lowe with a negative ball from the top of the eighteen twenty-four out.  Lowe put the ball on frame and finished off the 7-0 victory.

The task will prove much more difficult and daunting in the next round than the previous two.  Both Aledo and Wichita Falls are preseason Region One top ten teams and have done nothing all season to suggest otherwise.  Birdville will learn their schedule for the next match following that Area round match that is being played tomorrow evening in Denton.  GAME PHOTOS

Lady Hawks Set Record in Round 1 Win

03/24/11 – After a week off since district play ended, the Lady Hawks were back in action this afternoon at the FAAC against Mineral Wells in the bi-district round of the UIL state soccer playoffs.  They bounced back from a district ending loss with a 6-0 victory over the Lady Rams to give them shutout number 23 on the season.  The Caity Conaway led defense held off the Lady Rams while only surrendering three shots on the evening.  That breaks the previous 4A team state record for a single season of 22 that was set by the 2008 Birdville side.  Southlake holds the all school record of 24; also set in that 2008 season.  Stephanie Sorrells added to her team leading goal count by getting things started just a little more than nine minutes into the match.  At the 30:53 mark Madison Abbott took a ball up the right touchline about ten yards past midfield and found Sorrells on a run up the middle just outside the eighteen.  A Lady Ram defender wasn’t able to get enough of a touch on the ball to disrupt Sorrells who got by her and put the ball past the keeper for the 1-0 lead.  With 17:02 left in the first period Annysa Plata carried the ball about ten yards in from the left touchline to the top of the eighteen and found Jade Wear on a beautifully played cross.  Wear one touched the ball into the net from five out and Birdville was up 2-0.  With only 5:42 left in the half, Sorrells took a corner kick from the keepers left and found senior Emily Sumrall just inside the back post.  Sumrall put a head on it and blasted it right through the keeper’s arms for a 3-0 advantage.  Only 3:07 later, Sorrells was turned at the top of the eighteen by the Mineral Wells defense, but got off a negative ball to Macie McGuffin who ripped a shot perfectly from 32 out into the upper ninety for Birdville’s 4-0 halftime lead.  Four and a half minutes into the final half, Sorrells was tackled from behind about twelve yards out from the goal and stuck the ensuing penalty kick herself for goal number 24 on the season and a 5-0 lead for the home team.  With 17:56 left in the match. Sumrall brought the ball up the middle of the Lady Ram defense and dished it off to Kaleigh Springer about fifteen out.  Springer got off a shot that was partially blocked by the Mineral Wells goalie, but caromed right to Wear on the back post for the Lady Hawks final goal and the 6-0 win.  Birdville will face Burkburnett from district 9-4A in the Area round; most likely on Monday.    GAME PHOTOS

1^st ROUND PLAYOFFS SET

03/19/11 – Coach Garcia takes his 11-4A District Champs into their first round playoff match against the Brewer Bears on Thursday 03/24/11 at 6:00pm on the Northwest ISD pitch.  Brewer comes in as the number four seed out of a tough District 12-4A on the heels of their 2-2 match in Mineral Wells last night.  This Birdville team is on a mission and brings a passion to the pitch every time they set foot on it.  With their Captain Jonny Baggett always watching from above they will be looking to take their first step to a hopeful deep playoff run.  Led by offensive weapons Tyler Wagley, Cesar Rosales, Enrique Rangel and Anthony Bardon the Hawks plan to convert those emotions into playoff wins.  A stingy defense anchored by Captain Alex Becerra, keeper Sean O’Connor, Isaac Villalobos, Kyle Riese and Andrew Sawyers will prove essential in that quest.  Norberto Alvarez in the midfield and the speed and versatility of Andrew Miller up and down the field should help fuel an exciting effort by the Hawks.

After a hard fought must win district finale, Coach John Tuggle will bring his confident Lady Rams of Mineral Wells to visit the FAAC on Thursday 03/24/11 for a 5:30pm match as the Lady Hawks first round playoff opponent.  Mineral Wells leap frogged both Brewer and Azle to earn their District 12-4A third seed playoff birth by virtue of the timely goalie play of Jennifer Carrizales and opportune headers from Molly Clark and Sami Stephens in a 2-1 win over Brewer last night.  Led by Stephanie Sorrells’ team leading 22 goals and the school’s fifth all-time leading scorer in Emily Sumrall, Birdville brings in one of the area’s top offensive sides and will be looking to rebound from a tough loss in their district finale.  Coach Brown improvised with his defense this season after losing three starting seniors last year, but has seen the leadership of Caity Conaway, Madi Abbott, Macie McGuffin and keeper Lexi Stinson answer the call by tying their 4A state record team shutout mark of 22 set their freshman season.  The return of McKenna Jetton to the lineup along with the continued contributions of underclassmen, Sami Moore,  Jade Wear (2^nd on team in district assists), Tiffany Dang (2^nd overall in team assists) will give the Lady Hawks some confidence coming into the match.

Speed and Mistakes Ground Lady Hawks

03/17/11 – Birdville had a tough hill to climb after losing to Denton Ryan three weeks ago and tonight, Ryan again showed why they are district champs in a 3-1 victory over the Lady Hawks at the FAAC.  Their combination of speed and aggressiveness to the ball forced Birdville into mistakes that resulted in all three goals.  Just 3:09 into the contest, the Lady Raiders were awarded a corner kick from the right of the goal and managed to get an unmarked player inside the six on the back post to put a head on the ball and send it back across the face of the goal.  Another Ryan player used her quickness to get goal side of the defense and volley the ball into the top of the net for the 1-0 Ryan lead.  Eleven minutes into the game, Birdville got the equalizer when Macie McGuffin took a free kick from midfield.  Loren Lowe brought the ball down and returned it to McGuffin who found Stephanie Sorrells off the far post around twenty out with a nicely played cross.  Sorrells got around her defender and went back post to make it 1-1.  Birdville looked to take the lead at the 22:32 mark, but an off sides call negated the apparent goal.  A little hesitation by Birdville keeper Lexi Stinson after a defensive lapse let Ryan’s top scorer behind them led to goal number two for Ryan with 18:07 left in the half.  The game went to the half with Ryan holding that 2-1 advantage.  Ryan’s superior team speed gave them the run of play the entire second half and afforded Birdville few scoring opportunities to get back into the game.  The Lady Raiders finally came up with their third and final goal with 18:26 left after a failed corner kick saw Birdville unable to bring the ball down and get a clean clearance.  A Lady Raider got control of the ball and turned unmolested for the shot to make it 3-1.  Ryan will go into the playoffs as the number one seed from District 11-4A and face the four seed from District 12-4A. Birdville will go in as the number two seed and square off against the number three seed from the same district.  Depending on tomorrow night’s results, Brewer, Azle or Mineral Wells could be one of those two teams.  The Lady Hawks first round playoff game will be played next week; likely Thursday or Friday.     Game Photos

Hawks Soar on Senior Night

03/15/11 – Tonight was a celebration of the seniors in the Birdville Hawk soccer program.  Family, friends and many alumni returned to the FAAC to honor the 2011 graduating players.  Six young men and ten young ladies were escorted onto the field by their parents to a hearty round of applause and honored with a short profile of their high school academic and athletic accomplishments as well as their future college plans.  Up to twelve of the sixteen plan to continue their playing careers at the college level.  SR Nite Photos 

Lady Hawks Take Down Lake Dallas

03/11/11 – Led by Stephanie Sorrells’ team leading 17^th goal and 16^th assist, Birdville defeated the Lady Falcons of Lake Dallas by a 3-0 count tonight.  Birdville appeared to get the scoring started only four minutes into the contest, but a questionable off sides call negated the score.  Sorrells wasn’t willing to wait very long to get the Lady Hawks on the board for real though.  She took the ball up the left side of the field about ten yards in from the touch line around the 33:40 mark.  From twenty five out, she found Jade Wear on a square ball right in the middle of the field.  Wear got a touch on it and went with one of her strengths in her powerful right leg from the top of the eighteen and buried a shot that looked like it would go through the net for the 1-0 lead.  Birdville had many other opportunities before the half would come to an end, but just couldn’t get one on frame.  Lake Dallas came out a little more offense minded in the second period and manufactured a few opportunities early on, but could not find the equalizer.  With 25:15 left in the contest, Emily Sumrall pushed a ball through to Sorrells about twelve yards out and the Lady Hawks were up 2-0.  With 8:09 remaining, Kaleigh Springer fired a shot off the keeper that she could not hang onto.  Tiffany Dang took the rebound and put it just inside the far post for the final goal on the evening and the 3-0 win was in the book.  The JV team also defeated Lake Dallas by a 4-1 margin.  Senior Night is next Tuesday when Birdville hosts Argyle for a mens and womens varsity double header.  The ladies will play the first match slated for 5:30 pm, followed by Senior Night ceremonies and the men's match.     JV GAME PHOTOS         VARSITY GAME PHOTOS

Lady Hawks Sweep Denton on the Year

03/08/11 – Birdville’s still injured side went to Denton to face the Lady Broncos for their final matchup of the 2011 season tonight.  They fought hard to get accustomed to the ever increasing and swirling winds of the evening and pulled out a 3-0 win to move to 22-1 on the year and 8-1 in district play.  Kaleigh Springer got things started about fifteen minutes in with a hard working unassisted goal that saw her take shots off two of her own rebounds before finally finding the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.  The Lady Hawks missed on several other scoring opportunities before the half and had to settle for the one goal lead at the break.  At the 33:05 mark in the second period Madi Abbott took a corner kick from the keeper’s left and somehow sent it through the crowd and all the way across the face of the frame unmolested to a waiting Tiffany Dang.  Dang brought the ball down and put it in the goal with a quick two touch effort for the 2-0 advantage.  Denton sought to counter the pressure of the Lady Hawks’ offense with a little over the top soccer, but was turned away at each attempt by some nice defensive efforts from Stephanie Sorrells, Sami Moore and Caity Conaway.  Birdville found the net for their final goal with just 1:55 left in the match on another corner kick that bounced around like a pinball before Jade Wear used the hip of a Denton player to carom a shot in for the 3-0 final.  JV kept their district record clean with a 4-0 victory over the Lady Broncos.  The Lady Hawks return home on Friday for a 7:00pm match against Lake Dallas.     GAME PHOTOS

Patience Prevails for Lady Hawks

02/25/11 – Birdville knew they had an uphill climb this evening against a scrappy Keller Timber Creek.  With two key players out as a result of concussions suffered in Tuesday night’s affair, Coach Brown was looking for somebody to step up in the middle of the field.  Add to that, Captain Macie McGuffin’s availability for emergency duty only due to another injury from Tuesday night and things could get interesting.  The struggle was obvious throughout the first half even though the Lady Hawks controlled the pace of play the entire forty minutes.  Birdville cranked off ten plus shots on the half, but all were either off frame or right into the hands of the Lady Falcon keeper and the match went to the half with a pair of goose eggs.  The second half looked to be a little better when Loren Lowe found McKenna Jetton for a 1-0 lead at the 24:21 mark, but the whistle for off sides negated the goal and the game remained tied at zero.  Birdville kept up the pressure on goal, but with similar result as the first half.  Timber Creek came close to drawing first blood several times on counters in the second half, but a key turnover thanks to the quick feet of Madi Abbott around the twenty minute mark, quickly followed by a deflection wide of the goal by Birdville keeper Lexi Stinson and three separate Lady Falcon efforts thwarted by Captain Caity Conaway and Hannah Larson kept them at bay.  With 6:30 left in the contest, Jetton took the ball deep into the right corner and was able to deliver a ball into the six despite intense pressure from the two Timber Creek defenders.  As was the case all night long, Stephanie Sorrells was right there around the ball when it came in and delivered a one touch ball into the net for the 1-0 Birdville lead.  The Lady Falcons wasted little time in their attempt to knot things up when they got a free kick from about thirty yards out with 5:16 left.  The kick was served perfectly into the six yard box, but was punched out to midfield by a charging Stinson.  Jetton was on the other end of the punch-out and took it up the right touch line after getting by her defender.  She found a newly inserted McGuffin at the top of the 18 from about 32 out and delivered the ball at her feet.  The Lady Falcon keeper quickly came out to challenge, but McGuffin was able to easily touch the ball by her and deflect it off a Timber Creek defender into the goal for the 2-0 advantage with 5:03 left.  The second goal took the air out of Timber Creek’s sails and they never mounted another serious threat.  Birdville moves to 20-1 on the season and 6-1 in district 11-4A play.  JV also got a 2-0 win tonight as Amy Hankins gets the shutout in goal.  They are off next Tuesday due to TAKS testing, but will return to action on Friday against Byron Nelson for a 7:00pm contest at Old Birdville Stadium.     GAME PHOTOS

Ryan Schools Lady Hawks

02/22/11 – It was supposed to be the battle of the unbeaten, but it was more of a lesson in speed and physical play, courtesy of the Lady Raiders of Denton Ryan.  Ryan got on the board just 7:51 into the match with a free kick from midfield that was delivered into the penalty area untouched by a Birdville player and squeezed inside the far post just to the lower left of keeper Lexi Stinson’s outstretched left arm on the resulting 1v1.  Less than two minutes later at the 30:16 mark, Stephanie Sorrells carried the ball up the middle of the pitch for about twenty-five yards before finding Loren Lowe on the right touch line.  Lowe put a cross in the  mouth of the goal to a waiting Jade Wear, but a Ryan defender brought a knee up and deflected it into the net before Wear could get a touch on it to bring the match to a 1-1 tie.  Ryan took the lead before halftime with just over six minutes left after the Lady Hawks were successful in defending a corner kick, but could not get the ball cleared completely.  Ryan gathered it up and brought it back into the box and got off an unmolested shot that got by a screened Stinson for the 2-1 lead.  The Lady Raiders used their speed, quickness to the ball and physical play to dominate the entire second half just as they did the first period.  Their physical strength and control was never more evident than it was on a Lady Raider corner with 18:10 left in the match when they were able to knock Birdville off the ball; seemingly at will.  Stinson came up with three point blank saves inside the six on the play before Ryan finally got one over her on a header for the 3-1 advantage.  Hannah Larson, Caity Conaway and Stinson turned away numerous Ryan threats the rest of the way before the Lady Raiders somehow got a free kick in the box again untouched by Birdville and headed into the net with only 14 seconds left for the 4-1 final.  Birdville drops to 19-1 on  the season and 5-1 in district 11-4A play.  They have another tough match on Friday when they travel to Keller Timber Creek for a 7:00pm affair.

Lady Eagles Give Birdville a Handful

02/18/11 – Argyle’s “pack it in” style defense kept Birdville off the board for the better part of twenty minutes of the first half.  Stephanie Sorrells finally found Macie McGuffin about 25 yards out just off the right touch line though with 20:16 left in the period and McGuffin was able to lay a ball across the six to the fully extended right leg of Kailey Springer for the touch into the net and 1-0 lead.  A couple nice saves by the Lady Eagle keeper and a very questionable non goal by McKenna Jetton left the Lady Hawks with the one goal halftime advantage.  The scoring drought continued for the first 15:47 of the second half until Sorrells added to her team leading assist count with her first of two on the night.  She recovered a missed shot by Springer just outside the six yard box and made a quick soft touch to Tiffany Dang just beyond the reach of the goalie and Dang gave Birdville the 2-0 lead with her seventh on the season.  The Lady Hawks’ final goal of the evening came on an almost square ball from Sorrells to McGuffin off the left touchline at the 8:17 mark.  The frustration of the evening was evident as McGuffin loaded up and put a little attitude on her rocket that hit the back of the net before the keeper ever moved.  Her sixth goal of the season tied the most productive team scoring season in Birdville history set in 2009 with their 100th on the year.  Birdville visits the Lady Raiders of Denton Ryan on Tuesday at 7:00pm for a showdown of the two remaining undefeated teams in District 11-4A.    GAME PHOTOS

Lady Hawks Soar Past Lake Dallas

02/15/11 – It took almost half of the first period to draw blood, but Birdville took a 1-0 lead at the 20:15 mark.  Freshman Sami Moore from the center of the field about 35 yards out found senior Macie McGuffin on a diagonal run from the left touchline.  McGuffin took the ball about 16 out and had one defender to get by before her shot over the outstretched arms of the Lady Falcon keeper just under the crossbar and into the top of the net.   It was McGuffin’s fifth tally of the year.  The unorthodox style of Lake Dallas slowed the Birdville attack, but they did finally put a couple back to back goals together shortly before the intermission.  With 6:51 left in the half, Stephanie Sorrells took possession about 40 yards out and weaved her way through four Lady Falcon defenders before a very unselfish square ball from 12 out off the left post to Loren Lowe for her first of two goals on the evening.  Just 3:30 later, Sorrells again hit Lowe who found Tiffany Dang with a quick through ball to the keeper’s left.  Dang took the ball all the way across the face of the frame before beating the keeper low to give Birdville the 3-0 halftime lead.  The Lady Hawks found the net for the final time of the evening when McKenna Jetton took a ball deep into the corner and turned her defender around long enough to get off a cross to the back post that Lowe was able to put in for her eighth goal of the season and the final of 4-0.  Birdville moves to 18-0 and 4-0 in district play.  Bailey Barron’s two goals led the JV to a 3-0 win over the Lady Falcons as well.  The JV is off Friday, but hosts South Grand Prairie at 10:00 am on Saturday morning at BHS #1.  Ladies varsity faces Argyle on Friday after the men in the late game of the coed double header at the Eagles pitch.     GAME PHOTOS

Birdville Blanks Lady Broncos

02/12/11 – Led by Emily Sumrall’s two first half goals, the Lady Hawks defeated the Lady Broncos 6-0 at the FAAC this afternoon.  Sumrall got things started for Birdville 19:04 into the match when she played a free kick from 35 out to Jade Wear who immediately played it back to her.  One step and her laser found the upper ninety to the keeper’s right side.  Just two minutes later there was a little mix-up in the box for Denton.  The keeper was not able to hold onto a high ball and Sumrall got a head on it to Kailey Springer.  Springer brought it down and stuck it into the open net for the 2-0 lead.  Less than a minute and a half later, Macie McGuffin had a throw in from the 18 to the head of Tiffany Dang.  Dang flicked it across the box to Sumrall for her second goal and the 3-0 halftime lead.  A little less than half way into the second period, Birdville got on the board again thanks to the right leg of Sami Moore.  Moore smoked it to the right of the keeper from 25 out and the 4-0 advantage.  With 9:50 left in the contest, Jade Wear rocketed a shot off the crossbar from about 16 out.  McGuffin took the carom at the 18 and hit it near post for the 5-0 lead.  The Lady Hawks wrapped up the scoring with 2:43 left.  Wear struck a shot that was deflected by the Denton keeper and gathered up by Makalah Grosenbach only to have her shot denied by deflection also.  Annysa Plata finished the pinball game taking that deflection and making her side net shot for the 6-0 victory.  Next up; the Lady Hawks travel to Lake Dallas on Tuesday for a 7:00pm contest against the Lady Falcons.    GAME PHOTOS

Strong Second Half Sparks JV

02/12/11 – The Lady Hawks JV had the run of play early in the first half, but couldn’t find the net until Jules Watson scored the lone goal of the half at the 26:39 mark off a ball from Bailey Barron.  The second half went much the same way until Barron stepped in front of a Lady Bronco on a free kick after a Birdville offsides with 18:34 left in the match.  She slipped the ball past the keeper’s left hand to put the Lady Hawks up 2-0.  Only 2:40 later Barron took a ball deep into the penalty area only to have two defenders step in front of her.  She dished a negative ball to Hannah Lowe at the 18.  Lowe wasted no time putting Birdville up 3-0 with her cross frame shot.  Barron hit a shot off of a defender with 13:20 and Erin Carlson put the rebound off the keeper’s hand for a corner kick.  From the corner, Lowe sent a perfect ball across the frame to a waiting Meredith Gebo who buried a header for the 4-0 lead.  Gebo and Amy Hankins combined for the shutout for Birdville.    GAME PHOTOS

Lady Hawks Move to 16-0

02/08/11 – The Lady Hawks finally got to resume their schedule tonight thanks to a quick break in the wintery weather.  They traveled to Trophy Club to face Byron Nelson in the second district match for both teams.  The weather induced layoff exposed a little rust early on, but Birdville kept working and outshot the Lady Bobcats in the first half by a 7-5 margin, yet could only put two on frame.  With just over three minutes left in the first half, Emily Sumrall found Stephanie Sorrells with a quick pass in the center of the field  just over the midfield mark and Sorrells took the ball up the right touch line just past and outside the eighteen.  She hooked a cross towards the center of the frame a hair beyond the extended leg of Jade Wear on the near post, but also just out of the keeper’s range and directly to the right foot of Tiffany Dang on the left side of the six yard box.  Dang one touched the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net with 3:12 left to give Birdville a 1-0 halftime lead.  The second period started with the Lady Hawks threatening several times, but unable to put a shot on frame they continued to come away empty handed.  The Lady Bobcats turned up the heat offensively and forced Birdville into a defensive posture for most of the last 15:00.  Caity Conaway and the defense foiled four Byron Nelson corner kicks in the last eight minutes and Lexi Stinson had four saves in that same time frame to preserve the 1-0 win.  JV B won 3-0 and JV A brought home the 2-0 win.    GAME PHOTOS

The Denton Lady Broncos come to the FAAC on Saturday when the Lady Hawks return to action at 4:00pm.  The varsity contest will be preceded by the JV at 2:00pm.

Lady Hawks Win One for Jonny

01/29/11 – It’s the matchup the 500 or so fans that showed up at the FAAC wanted.  The long distance rivalry between Birdville’s Lady Hawks and the Lady Raiders of SH Rider has turned out to be one that has produced some great games and a mutual respect and admiration between these two Region 1 powers in recent years.  Birdville has not been on the winning side of the typical one goal matches in the last five games scattered over four years, but they hoped this would be different.  

Without their two top scorers in Madison Hall and Jade Wear, the Lady Hawks knew they had a tall order to fill.  As has been the case in previous matches, the game started off at a blistering pace and did not slow down the entire match.  Birdville controlled the pace of play most of the first half with great ball movement between McKenna Jetton, Emily Sumrall and Sami Moore in the midfield, although the ball racked up plenty of miles from one end of the pitch to the other.  Rider dodged a bullet twenty minutes into the contest when their keeper was carded for a foul, but was deemed outside of the field of play instead of in the box.  On the ensuing corner kick however a Rider player was whistled for a hand ball in the box and Stephanie Sorrells came to the spot.  She promptly buried the ball in the corner of the net only to have it waved off because the official had not blown the ball live.  She again stepped up to the mark and carbon copied her prior effort to give the Lady Hawks a 1-0 advantage 15:42 into the game.  Rider turned up the heat on the kick off, but a couple nice defensive plays by Caity Conaway and goalie Lexi Stinson allowed Birdville to keep control of things in the midfield and hold the Lady Raiders at bay.  At the 14:35 mark, Madi Abott took a cleared ball from Conaway and carried it up the right side; setting up a textbook cross to the right foot of Sorrells who volleyed a perfect ball just past the outstretched arms of the Rider keeper for the 2-0 lead they would carry to the break.  Birdville came out with the “most dangerous halftime lead” in soccer and seemed a little lethargic to begin with, but quickly found their stride again and battled Rider’s aggressive efforts the entire second half.  Rider created a lot of chances in the half and finally capitalized on a corner kick at the 12:01 mark after Stinson made a diving save on the initial effort, but was unable to get a solid piece of the deflection.   The Lady Raiders poured on the pressure the rest of the match in their effort to erase the 2-1 deficit and had four more excellent opportunities only to be turned away by two Stinson saves and a great clearance each by Conaway and Hannah Larson.  The final buzzer brought on the team celebration of what was truly a team effort.

Now the real season begins with district play starting on Monday evening in a 7:00pm contest against Keller Timbercreek at the FAAC.    TOURNAMENT PHOTOS

W's Aren’t Always Pretty

01/31/11 – After a 14-0 non-district start, the Lady Hawks looked to keep up their undefeated season against upstart Keller Timber Creek in the district opener for both.  The lull might have been inevitable, but Coach Brown was probably hoping it would not come against such a quality opponent in the Lady Falcons.  It’s a tough chore to start district play without your top two scorers who were diagnosed earlier in the day with a broken shoulder and an ACL tear.  The impact was apparent as the entire first half was unsystematic and disorganized.  Birdville did get off several shots, but right into the arms of the Lady Falcons’ keeper.  Perhaps their best chance of the first period for the more physical Timber Creek came with 6:30 left when Caity Conaway cleared a corner kick to midfield to avoid a goal only to have the Lady Falcons bring the attack right back to Birdville for another shot that was gathered up by diving keeper Lexi Stinson.  Birdville escaped to the half knotted at zero.  The second frame started with TC and the weather threatening.  The wind picked up along with the Lady Falcons attack.  Although the shots in the second produced much the same results as the first for Birdville, their defense was able to keep the Lady Hawks in the match.  Coming off a rough week of battling the flu and strep throat, midfielder Jade Wear finally saw her hard work all game long pay off when she found a streaking Tiffany Dang up the right touch line at the 21:33 mark.  Dang brought the ball down and cleared her defender just enough to give McKenna Jetton a ball she could handle in the middle of the box about 12 yards out.  She got ample pace on the ball to get it through the keeper’s hands and into the net for the 1-0 lead.  Both defenses were able to keep each other at bay the rest of the way and limit the scoring to that lone goal.  It wasn’t the “beautiful game”, but it was a W and the ultimate objective to start district play. 

The Lady Hawks take a break from 11-4A play this Friday with a match in Alvarado at 7:30 pm.  They resume their district schedule with a visit to Byron Nelson next Tuesday for a 7:00 pm contest.    GAME PHOTOS

SICKNESS & INJURY CAN’T STOP LADY HAWKS

01/25/11 - Once again, injury and sickness reduced the forces to bare bones sides.  All three Lady Hawk teams refuse to lay down though, as all three brought home the win.

JV B came away from Arlington Seguin with a 4-1 victory on the strength of an Ashley Taylor hat trick and another goal by Meredith Gebo.

JV A had similar results with a 5-0 win thanks to a Bailey Barron hat trick and a pair of goals from Erin Carlson.

Varsity added another shutout to their ledger with a 9-0 win over the Lady Cougars of Arlington Seguin on the four goal performance of Madison Hall and a hat trick from Stephanie Sorrells.  Jade Wear and Madison Abbott added goals of their own to round out the Birdville scoring.  Sorrells, Macie McGuffin, and Wear also pitched in a couple assists a piece and Emily Sumrall and Annysa Plata contributed one each.

Lady Hawks Take Out Lady Tigers

01/27/11 – Fueled by Makala Grosenbach’s two goal performance, Birdville started the Jonny Baggett Memorial Tournament off with a 7-0 win over Corsicana.  Madison Hall went down with an injury early in the first half in a collision with the Lady Tiger keeper, but added to her team leading goal count in the process.   Stephanie Sorrells fed the ball to Hall as she continued her blistering pace in the assist category adding three plus a goal of her own to boot.  McKenna Jetton, Emily Sumrall and Annysa Plata each added a goal and Jetton threw in a couple assists to round out the scoring on the afternoon.  The Lady Hawks will be back on the pitch tomorrow in matches at 12:30pm and 6:30pm.

1/21/11 - The Lady Hawks struggled through a rough first half with some errant passing and a few unlucky shot attempts, but found their stride quickly after intermission.  Just 2:12 into the second, Madison Hall took up where she left off this morning and got Birdville on the board with an unassisted effort that saw her carry the ball a good thirty yards past the Lady Lions defense despite being pulled from behind most of the way.  Shortly thereafter, Jade Wear took a pass from Tiffany Dang deep in the corner to the keeper’s right and ripped a shot into the side net for the 2-0 lead at the 30:16 mark.  Exactly ten minutes later with 20:16 left, Stephanie Sorrells got off a shot only to have the keeper knock it down, but she followed with a rocket off the keeper’s outstretched right hand to get the Lady Hawks final goal of the game.

Varsity & JV Win Game 1 in Hornet Invitational

1/21/11  -  The ladies’ JV went up against the Lady Elks of Burleson to open up their tournament with similar results as Tuesday’s affair.  The Lady Hawks flew away with a 1-0 win on a goal from Bailey Barron that was assisted by Atilana Mercado.

TEAMS PREPARE FOR JONNY BAGGETT MEMORIAL TOURNEY

01/26/11 - It’s a bitter-sweet time for Birdville soccer.  Hearts are heavy without that curly red hair and huge smile belonging to Jonny Baggett, but those that knew him are all filled with memories as they prepare to play their last preparation for district in the tournament named in his honor.

The Hawks welcome a couple preseason top ten teams in Aledo (#5) and Fort Worth North Side (#10); plus several of the area’s other top teams.  They start their tough bracket on Thursday with the premiere pool play matchup against FW North Side at 8:00pm.  They face Azle on Friday and Denison on Saturday with intentions of moving on to one of the advancement games on Saturday evening.  Birdville comes in garnering a lot of confidence and one of the best young teams in the area with hopes of putting their name on the trophy bearing their former captain’s name.

The Lady Hawks also face an uphill climb to continue their undefeated campaign with several highly ranked teams coming to the FAAC.  Birdville comes in with a preseason rank of #6 in Region 1 and will get things started Thursday afternoon with a match against Corsicana.  They’ll face Fort Worth Southwest and Waco High on Friday in hopes of advancement to Saturday’s hardware games.  Be careful what you wish for could be the operative phrase here since one of three other top ten regional teams participating are likely to be waiting should they advance.   WF Rider (#3), Aledo (#5) and Arlington Heights (#10) will all bring their sides into town in hopes of taking the trophy back home with them.  One of the premiere pool matches on the girls’ side will be the Rider v Aledo scheduled for 2:00pm Friday.

IT'S TIME

The ladies begin their season with a tournament at Sherman Bearcat Stadium againstSherman at 3:00pm on 1/13/11.  District play will get started on January 31^st for the ladies with a home game at the FAAC scheduled for 7:00 against Keller Timber Creek.  The JV gets going with 7:00pm contest on 1/14/11 at Haltom High School against Boswell.

Ladies Take All Three at Burleson

01-18-11  Decimated by injury and illness, the Lady Hawks pushed themselves to the limit and took three wins from the Lady Elks in Burleson tonight.  Keeper Amy Hankins and the defense of the JV B came away with a 2-0 shutout in the first game.  Ashley Taylor accounted for both unassisted goals.

Not to be outdone, the JV A put up four goals and the defense with Meredith Gebo in the net pitched a shutout in route to a 4-0 victory.  Hanna Lowe, Hannah Larson, and Bailey Barron each scored on assists from Jules Watson, Savannah Pybus and Erin Carlson; respectively.  Atilana Mercado accounted for the other goal in an unassisted effort.

With some personnel moved around, the varsity worked their way through a scoreless first half and over twenty minutes of the second before finally striking pay dirt at the 19:05 mark.  McKenna Jetton came off her 6 goal outburst over the weekend to get the Lady Hawks on the board off a well-played cross from Jade Wear.  Wear wasn’t sitting on her 6 goal; 4 assist weekend either as she added the final tally with 11:53 remaining on a follow of a Madison Hall shot that the Lady Elks keeper couldn’t handle.  Kaleigh Springer and the defense didn’t allow Burleson to find the back of the net as they matched the earlier two shutouts to complete the 2-0 victory.