Lady Panthers fall short for 2nd year in a row

Kingwood Park’s bid for a state soccer championship once again was thwarted by a team from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Highland Park defeated the Lady Panthers 4-1 on Thursday in the Class 5A girls semifinals at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Field.

Kingwood Park lost to Frisco Wakeland 3-0 in the Class 5A semifinals last year.

“This year (Highland Park) was a little bit of a different challenge in that they had such dynamic attackers,” White said. “There’s not a moment that we couldn’t be on and focused defensively as a team — not just the backline or the keepers — but as a team. It had to be 100 percent on the entire time or they were going to take advantage of any hesitation and any indecision.”

The Scots took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Maja Davison in the 11th minute. That score was followed by goals from Megan O’Neal in the 34th minute and Presley Echols in the 39th.

Echols added her second goal with nine minutes left in regulation.

Highland Park goalkeeper Michelle Weign made it tough on the Lady Panthers, who finished with six total shots and four on goal.

White said his team had few good looks at the goal, but he liked how it continued to fight in the second half.

That is when Kingwood Park finally broke through with a goal by senior striker Allie Byrd in the 72nd minute to prevent the shutout.

Byrd, who scored more than 2,000 career points for the basketball team, ends her soccer career with 92 goals.

While the Scots go for a seventh state championship, the Lady Panthers (26-2-2) finish an impressive two-year run that included 50 victories, three losses and two regional titles.

“Their leadership on and off the field was instrumental,” White said of his seniors. “It set the standard of making these two trips to state and the growth of the program overall the last few years.”