The top seed in the Class 5A Division I girls soccer playoffs from District 12-5A will likely be up for grabs Friday when Highland Park plays host to Frisco Reedy.
Assuming the Lady Scots emerge victorious Tuesday against Newman Smith, which HP defeated, 8-0, in the first half of league play, head coach Chad Hobbs’ bunch will need a win or tie to hold off Reedy for the top seed.
HP previously lost to Reedy in district, 2-1, but this meeting will take on a vastly different look as HP was down five starters due to conflicts with an Elite Club National Showcase tournament when the two teams first met Feb. 13.
HP is coming off a week in which it was defeated by Frisco Wakeland (ranked No. 3 in the state by the Texas Girls Coaches Association), 5-0, before rebounding to defeat The Colony, 4-0.
In the loss against Wakeland, Hobbs noted the Lady Scots were done in by a stretch of two goals in two minutes.
“Wakeland has some incredible players and we made a few mistakes,” he said. “When you combine our errors with their movement, that was the difference. They probably only created seven chances all night, but they were able to bury five of them. If you give them chances, they can just be lethal.”
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Given Tuesday’s results, however, Hobbs was more than pleased to see how his team responded two days later against The Colony.
Behind senior keeper and captain Taylor Cook, HP earned its fourth shutout in its last five district games, while freshman Londy Hutchison powered the offense with a pair of goals. Sophomore Lauren Dwyer and junior Pearl Deskin also found the back of the net for the Lady Scots.
“We have a resilient group and they really bounced back and controlled that game,” Hobbs said. “We had some very nice goals, and I was happy to see us kind of get back on our front foot. I feel like we’re starting to peak at the right time, which is the perfect place to be with the playoffs coming up.”
HP is looking to improve on a playoff run that ended in the regional semifinals (third round) a year ago.
“With our program and our history, I think the mindset once you make the playoffs has to be to go win it all,” Hobbs said. “When you get to this point, you have to be healthy and consistent and we’re pretty healthy and we’re finding that consistency. Now it’s just a matter of doing your job and trusting your teammates and we’re really excited to get the playoffs going. It’s a long season and this is what we look forward to.”
