Highland Park’s girls soccer team saw its season come to a close amidst controversy Tuesday in McKinney.
The Lady Scots were eliminated in the area round of the Class 5A Division 1 playoffs by Prosper Walnut Grove, 2-0, after falling behind early on a questionable foul leading to a score.
With the win, Walnut Grove — ranked No. 20 in the state by the Texas Girls Coaches Association — advances to the regional semifinals where it will face Midlothian.
On Tuesday, HP fell behind early, 1-0, after Walnut Grove scored off a penalty kick. The PK was awarded after a foul was called on HP keeper Taylor Cook following a collision in the box.
“Their forward was closing in as our keeper was coming out,” said Chad Hobbs, HP head coach. “The ball was already into Taylor’s hands and chest so we knew it wasn’t a foul, but the referee made what he thought was the right call. That’s sports and what can happen, but it definitely changed the complexion of the game.”
Hobbs added that despite the early goal, HP controlled the run of play throughout.
“The kids were just fantastic,” he said. “That was really the only chance (Walnut Grove) had in the first half, and the girls were feeling on top of the world coming out for the second half.”
The final 40 minutes, however, proved to be much of the same. HP created better scoring opportunities more consistently, but the Lady Scots were unable to break through before Walnut Grove scored an insurance goal in the closing minutes.
“Their keeper played a great game,” Hobbs said. “She made a couple of big-time saves early in the second half, so we had to change things up a bit and throw numbers forward trying to tie it up and they were able to catch us on a counter for their second goal.”
Still, while HP came short of advancing to regionals for the second consecutive season, Hobbs and the Lady Scots left McKinney holding their heads high.
“I feel bad for the kids because they played well enough to win the match,” Hobbs said. “They were resilient and responded, and even though it didn’t go our way, they were great. Our goal was to control the controllables and we did that. It just didn’t go our way.”
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