Coming off a 16-6-1 record and a 14th consecutive bi-district championship, the Brownwood Lady Lions soccer program begins its fourth campaign under head coach Alexis Walker at 4 p.m. Tuesday as they welcome Waco La Vega to Gordon Wood Stadium.
Through multiple preseason scrimmages, Walker has been impressed by the camaraderie the Lady Lions have displayed on the field.
“The main strength of this group is how well they play together,” Walker said. “I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to have these seniors for four years now so they know how I like things and they’re doing a very good job of being leaders of this group. I’m excited about what I’m seeing.”
Walker also raved about the play of the defensive unit, which is led by seniors Reagan Ratliff and Jasmine Gibbs on the back end.
“Defense doesn’t get the credit it always deserves because they don’t score the goals, but our defense works so well together,” Walker said. “Our main goal is to get shutouts before we get to district. The defense is the heart of our team.”
The offense will be short-handed during the early portion of the season as the leading returner scorer from last year, Molly Oliver, is out for a while after suffering a broken elbow in a scrimmage against Abilene Cooper.
“Jacklyn Lewis is holding down the forwards right now and is doing a good job, and a freshman is playing for Molly Oliver in Madison Weckworth and she got her first goal against Wylie, and she’s going to be a good one for us,” Walker said.
Following Tuesday’s opener against La Vega, the Lady Lions will face Snyder, Decatur, Taylor and San Angelo Lake View, while also competing in the Alvarado and Burnet tournaments, before district starts.
The 12-game District 5-4A schedule kicks off Jan. 26 at home against Lampasas as the Lady Lions look to improve on last year’s third-place finish behind state finalist Stephenville and regional tournament qualifier Salado.
“Stephenville went to the state finals and the first time we played them last year it was 1-0,” Walker said. “We’ve watched that film over and over. That’s the game we want to see, every time our girls step on the field with Stephenville they’re ready to compete and this year we have a group that’s ready to step up.
Salado is also very good and had a lot of juniors last year. They were in the regional tournament together, so our district has a lot of good competitors.”
Regarding how good the Lady Lions can be this season, Walker said. “They have all the talent in the world, they have to buy in and realize how good they are. I can tell them they have it, and have it in them, but they just need to keep competing the way they are. I’m excited to kick off the season Tuesday.”
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2024 LADY LIONS VARSITY SOCCER SCHEDULE
| J2 | Waco La Vega | 4 p.m. |
| J4-6 | at Alvarado tournament | TBA |
| J9 | at Snyder | 6 p.m. |
| J11-13 | at Burnet tournament | TBA |
| J16 | Decatur | 5:30 p.m. |
| J19 | at Taylor | 5:30 p.m. |
| J23 | at San Angelo Lake View | 6:30 p.m. |
| J26 | Lampasas* | 7 p.m. |
| J30 | at Salado* | 7 p.m. |
| F2 | BYE | |
| F6 | China Spring* | 7 p.m. |
| F9 | Stephenville* | 5:30 p.m. |
| F13 | at Gatesville* | 5 p.m. |
| F16 | at Little River Academy* | 5 p.m. |
| F20 | at Lampasas* | 7 p.m. |
| F23 | Salado* | 7 p.m. |
| F27 | BYE | |
| M1 | at China Spring* | 7 p.m. |
| M5 | at Stephenville* | 5:30 p.m. |
| M8 | Gatesville* | 5 p.m. |
| M12 | Little River Academy* | 5 p.m. |
* District 5-4A Game