Castro’s game-winner carries Spartans to state
It didn’t surprise Seven Lakes girls soccer coach Kaitlyn Eidson in the least that Maria Castro was in the right place at the right time Saturday in the Region III-6A championship at Abshier Stadium.
The junior midfielder, who ignited Friday’s semifinal win over Pearland, scored the game-winner in overtime (86th minute) in sending Seven Lakes to a 2-1 win over Jordan in a blustery day in Deer Park.
Seven Lakes (20-3-5) advances to next week’s Class 6A state tournament for the first time since 2012. The Lady Spartans lost that title matchup 1-0 to Plano West and will look to do themselves one better in Georgetown.
Castro said there was nothing creative about her game-deciding shot, which was directly in front of the goal.
“A little bit of luck,” Castro said. “The defender … she had the ball, and then I don’t know what happened. I just saw the ball and said I’ll just kick it.”
That score came with the wind and four minutes left in the first overtime period. Seven Lakes’ mission after that? Defense, defense, defense for the second OT session.
“We were all trying to talk to each other and not let them split the back,” Seven Lakes senior defender Sydney Hill said. “We do this thing called see-saw when the outside back on the right goes up and the other one comes down so we’re always in sync.
“We know (Jordan’s) Alex (Ledbetter) brings speed, and we knew not to dive because she’ll get behind us. Maria got us our momentum back with the goal and then our job was to play defense.”
Jordan scored the game’s first goal when senior midfielder Madison Lambert, taking advantage of a brisk wind, rifled a curving shot into the left corner of the goal in the 12th minute.
Seven minutes later, Seven Lakes produced the equalizer on a free kick from senior midfielder Wagoner Towsen.
Towsen’s shot, from 23 yards, hit the top of the goal mount and came directly down on the head of Jordan goalkeeper Taylor Thompson. The ball then ricocheted directly into the net to tie the game at 1-1.
Jordan had three corner kicks early in the first half, but nothing significant materialized from those efforts.
Seven Lakes became more effective moving against the wind in the first half and had several opportunities in close, including a header from junior midfielder Chloe Callahan that narrowly missed the mark.
Although Seven Lakes was the beneficiary of the wind the second half, Jordan’s defense was up to the task.
That set the stage for the overtime, and Eidson sent a clear message.
“This is just about grits and guts and being able to apply everything, and ultimately, reminding them that we can do this,” Eidson said.
The decision to take the wind in the first overtime session and apply pressure proved wise.
“We had a conversation about it,” Eidson said. “We felt we had to keep our foot on the pedal, and I guess it worked out.”
And when Castro scored, it seemed fitting for Seven Lakes.
“That’s been Maria all season,” Eidson said. “She’s our utility player. She’s the one who can step in and play multiple positions wherever we need fresh legs.”
Seven Lakes will be making its third trip to the state tournament, having also qualified in 2010, when it lost to McKinney Boyd in the semifinals. Jordan, which split the District 19-6A series with Seven Lakes, finishes its season with a 17-5-5 record.