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THE WOODLANDS –- After over 25 seasons with the Lady Highlanders, Dina Graves steps down and hands the reigns off to highly experienced Frankie Whitlock. With multiple district, regional and state championships, Whitlock will bring her expertise to the 13-6A fields. She hopes to lead the new players moving up to varsity as well as continue to work with the players returning for their final year. After a huge run in the playoffs, the Lady Highlanders look to go farther in hopes to a state championship appearance. Under Coach Graves, the Lady Highlanders went 23-2 overall and had an impressive 10-0 district record. They face off with Seven Lakes at Woodforest for their pre-season opener after a couple of scrimmages including the Bridgeland Bears.
Out here at Woodforest to watch some pre-season soccer. As The Woodlands (@twhsgirlsoccer) takes on Bridgeland (@BridgelandGS) pic.twitter.com/V7heST6xBh
— Woodlands Online Sports (@WOLsports) December 29, 2021
The Woodlands didn’t skip a beat as they stepped foot on the Woodforest Bank Stadium field and started running drills before their match against Bridgeland, who was also coming off a positive season. As the match began, The Woodlands kicked into gear and ran through the Bridgeland defense to score early in the opening minutes. Before the 10-minute mark, the match was already 2-0 with The Woodlands on top. Bridgeland didn’t have any answer to The Woodlands attacks other than trying to press the attackers. All efforts fell short in the first half as Bridgeland gets shut out while the Woodlands scores three.
The Lady Highlanders are up 3-0 against Bridgeland Bears at the half. pic.twitter.com/XzQ6unxmxk
— Woodlands Online Sports (@WOLsports) December 29, 2021
As the horn sounds for the second half to begin, Bridgeland looked like a different team, this time on the attack against the Lady Highlanders. The field was flipped this time as the Bears went on their aggressive advances towards The Woodlands goal. For the majority of the first half, The Woodlands kept pressure on their half of the field where Bridgeland had a difficult time getting shots on their respected goal. This time the roles were flipped and the Bears had many more shots on goal than the Lady Highlanders. With the pressure mounting, Bridgeland finally was able to put one in the goal but it was short lived as the buzzer sounds and the game ends. The Woodlands defeats Bridgeland in the pre-season scrimmage 3-1.
Although this doesn’t count towards the seasons, it helps each team work on their strategies going forward. Practice can take a team the majority of the way but there is nothing like actual game play to see where the team stands. The Woodlands is set to have a couple more tournament matches before their district opener against Seven Lakes.
Soccer is finally here! The Woodlands doesn't miss a step from last season and comes out on top.
— Woodlands Online Sports (@WOLsports) December 29, 2021
Final
The Woodlands - 3
Bridgeland - 1 pic.twitter.com/zIeSTWyB7M
