Freshmen lift Falcons to first state tourney
Cinco Ranch is supposed to win these games.
The District 19-6A champions hadn’t lost all season, and they were three-time defending regional champions.
Tompkins’ freshmen didn’t know any better.
They scored both the team’s goals, with Valeria Gomez supplying the first in her starting debut, to lift the Falcons to their first state berth with a 2-0 victory over Cinco Ranch on Saturday at Abshier Stadium.
“The freshmen came in, and they stepped up,” Tompkins coach Jarrett Shipman said. “They weren’t scared.”
The Falcons (18-4-3) are first-time Class 6A Region III girls champions.
Now they’re heading to Georgetown for the state tournament next week at Birkelbach Field in their third varsity season.
“This is as far as the school has ever gone, and now, to get to state, it’s crazy,” Gomez said.
She was happy getting into the game.
The freshman defender came up for the playoffs after spending her first year on the junior varsity “A” team and started Saturday because senior center back Katherine Reid was injured in the regional semifinals.
“I was honestly in awe,” Gomez said. “I never thought that would happen to me, because I got pulled up from JV ‘A’ and now I’m starting on varsity.
“I didn’t think that was possible.”
Gomez’s first objective was not to mess up.
She didn’t, teaming with her sister, junior defender Veruzka Gomez, to hold the previously unbeaten Cougars scoreless.
Her second goal was an unexpected boost for the Falcons’ offense. She lifted a ball over charging Cinco Ranch goalkeeper Olivia Futch in the 11th minute.
“I was going in for the cross, to find Barbara (Olivieri) up top, and then it bounced over the goalie,” Valeria said.
Freshman Skylar Parker, whose sister, Shaylee Anaya, plays for Cinco Ranch, sealed their first victory over the Cougars, scoring off JoAnnie Ramos’ corner kick for a 2-0 lead in the 65th minute.
“That was some breathing room,” Shipman said. “That let us relax a little bit, drop in and take care of business.”
The Cougars (23-1-3), in their fifth straight regional final, came up short.
“I’m extremely proud of this group and the way they fought,” Cinco Ranch coach Fredy Sanguinetti said after visiting with each distraught player and offering comfort. “Tompkins was the better team, and all the respect goes to them. But for me, I would still take my girls any day.”
The region is still sending a Katy ISD team to state, too, offering some consolation.
The school district placed two girls teams into the regional final for the fifth consecutive season.
“They’ve got great players, great coaching, and that’s what Katy ISD is,” Sanguinetti said. “That’s why a lot of teams go through, and they make these long runs, because our district is the way it is.”
Tompkins joins Seven Lakes, Katy Taylor and Cinco Ranch as state qualifiers since 2012.
“It’s everything we’ve been working for since we started this program,” Shipman said. “We’ve said that is our goal. When they mention Cinco, Seven Lakes and Taylor, our name should be up there, too.”