Anderson girls capture District 26-6A title
In what might be its last hurrah in a Class 6A district for some time, the Anderson girls soccer team certainly made it count.
The Trojans, who will drop to Class 5A for the next two-year cycle, won the District 26-6A title Friday with a 3-0 win over Bowie.
Playing in a loaded district that includes quality sides Lake Travis, Westlake, Johnson, Dripping Springs and Austin High, Anderson finished 11-3-2 in district play, tallying 35 points in the challenging slate to edge the Cavs by a point.
“I’m beyond thrilled,” Anderson coach Emily Horvath said. “The district speaks for itself with the talent pool in it. We might be the smallest Class 6A school in the state, and thinking of it from that perspective kind of makes it more meaningful. We all believed we could do it, and to making it come to fruition makes it amazing.”
Gracie Ruthven scored in the game’s first 30 seconds and Jessica Greenway and Claire Navarro also tallied goals for Anderson.
Navarro, Neve Chachanashvili and Abbey Ford provided assists, while Kendall Meachum recorded the clean sheet in goal.
Horvath lauded the play of Chachanashvili, Ruthven — whose goal marked her 13th of the district season — and Evelyn Grossman.
“It was one of those games where you look back and realize every single player played well,” she said. “I’m so proud and so excited for this team.”
Horvath noted it was a balanced effort that was key to the team winning the district.
“Last year we held our own defensively, and we’ve always been strong there,” she said. “This year, we’ve really worked on offense. We’ve been creative up top and been disciplined in the center midfield. And our defense was again really solid.”
Other girls results
Johnson 2, Del Valle 1: Lilley Christenson’s second-half goal marked the game-winner to put the Jaguars into the playoffs. London Lakos also scored for Johnson, who will face Round Rock in the first round of the playoffs.
Austin High 2, Dripping Springs 0: The Maroons ended their season in style thanks to goals from Kate Loudamy and Eva Narvarte. Kylee Colston and Sarah Garrison combined to record the shutout in goal.
Lake Travis 10, Akins 0: The Cavs clinched the second seed in the playoffs with the win. Addie Hall was named woman of the match, while Colette Whitsitt provided the clean sheet in goal. Lake Travis goals were scored by Kayla Gibbons, Amelia Clark, Banin Patterson, Jaz Diaz, Avery Lang, Amara Sanchez, Aria Roldan, Addie Hall and Madelyn Gordona.
Westlake 1, Smithson Valley 0: AJ Carlson scored an unassisted goal and goalkeepers Sophia Martin and Hannah Hollenbeck combined for the shutout in a non-district game. The Chaps finished third in 26-6A.
Boys results
Bowie 2, Anderson 1: Joe Kwon and
Karsten Albrecht scored for the Bulldogs, who completed an undefeated season. Bowie clinched the district title a couple of weeks ago.
Akins 1, Lake Travis 0: The Eagles are back in the playoffs for the first time in eight years after a dramatic win over the Cavs to gain the district’s fourth seed. Isay Galindo Ramirez scored off an assist from Aaron Lopez Mondragon, and Nolan Clay had the clean sheet for Akins, who will play Vandegrift in the first round of the playoffs.
High school sports correspondent Butch Hart contributed to this story.