ABILENE – The Brownwood Lady Lions’ deepest postseason run since 2018 ended one victory shy of the program’s first appearance in a regional final, as the Midland Greenwood Rangerettes tallied a 2-0 Class 4A Division II Region I semifinal victory Friday at Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
“It was not the way we wanted things to go today, but we will praise God through it all,” said Lady Lions head coach Alexis Walker. “He’s given us many, many blessings this season. We got some wins in the playoffs, but today was just not our day. I couldn’t be more proud of this group of girls and what they were able to accomplish this season. The last one is always tough, and these days sting, but at the end of the day all we can do is be thankful for the blessings that were given to us this season and move on and continue to grow.”
After playing a scoreless first half, the Lady Lions dominated possession for the first 15 minutes of the second half. But in the blink of an eye – or a span of less than two minutes to be exact – Greenwood’s Emily Jones found the net twice to account for the only scoring in the contest.
First, with 25:12 left, Jones broke free to light up the scoreboard for the first time. Then, with 23:37 remaining, Jones expanded on the Greenwood advantage.
“We knew coming in that was their girl they would go to,” Walker said. “On her two goals she had, we weren’t able to man mark her and she got away from us.”
The Lady Lions had a handful of opportunities to score, the best coming with 2:10 left in the first half when Nylah Hall hit the cross bar from 20 yards out.
In the second half, attempts by Kynlie Lewis with 32:25 to go, Nylah Hall with 9:53 left, Alayna Hernandez with 7:49 remaining, and Icess Hall with 6:43 on the clock were all slightly off target.
“With the windy conditions and the slippery conditions, we just weren’t able to hold on to the ball like we normally do,” Walker said.
Friday wrapped up the Brownwood soccer careers for seniors Kynlie Lewis, Nixon Johnson, Icess Hall, and Hannah Deen.
“We had such great senior leadership,” Walker said. “Our two that were with us all year long, Nixon and Kynlie, they were our two captains. We gained Icess and Hannah as the season went on and we couldn’t be more thankful for that group of senior leaders. We’re going to miss them so much and can’t wait to see all the good things they accomplish in life.”
Despite the loss, the Lady Lions finished with their best record in a single season at 18-4-1. And a significant portion of this year’s roster will be returning for the 2027 campaign.
“That’s huge and speaks volumes about the kind of girls we have, and a majority of them are underclassmen,” Walker said. “For them to be able see this side of it, these are our expectations every single year, to get where we are right now and to one day surpass this. For them to witness this and be able to do that with the seniors we have this year is huge and will only help in the seasons ahead.”