HS Boys Soccer: The Woodlands Opens District Season with Win Over Oak Ridge

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Oak Ridge hosted the last year’s State Semifinalists, The Woodlands Highlanders in the district opener on Tuesday night. On paper for the 2023 pre-season, Oak Ridge leads The Woodlands with a 6-2-0 record while the Highlanders hold a 5-2-0 record. With a new head coach, Oak Ridge looks to shake off the rust from last season and learn new moves and techniques for the upcoming season.

In the first minutes of the first half, The Woodlands attacked the Oak Ridge goal with aggressive ball movement up and down the field. Oak Ridge would respond by locking down the defense and putting pressure on the ball. It wouldn’t be until the 13th minute that The Woodlands would find success and hit the back of the net.

With the momentum on their side, The Woodlands would continue to push the ball up into the Oak Ridge area. As Oak Ridge continued to put pressure on the ball, The Woodlands would find success once again in the 25th minute and chalk up another goal before the half ended.

Before the half was over, Oak Ridge would try their hand at attacking the goal but couldn’t get past The Woodlands defenders without turning the ball over. Although down, Oak Ridge would be aggressive on the inbound and try to push their way up the field to get looks at the goal. Unfortunately, the halftime buzzer would sound and The Woodlands would lead 2-0.

Oak Ridge would hit the field and find success after a couple of runs to the goal. In the 11th minute Oak Ridge would put a goal on the board and put pressure on the lead held by The Woodlands. But, just a couple minutes after the Oak Ridge goal, The Woodlands would find the back of the net once again making it 3-1 with 27 minutes left in the game.

After another goal by The Woodlands, Oak Ridge would chalk up another one with a swift break away kick. With just 6 minutes left in the game, Oak Ridge would chip away at The Woodlands lead, 4-2.

Before the game would come to an end, The Woodlands would score another goal in the 78th minute. Unfortunately, it would bounce off an Oak Ridge defender and go past the goalie.

The Woodlands would win their district opener against Oak Ridge 5-2. Oak Ridge is set to face Conroe at home while The Woodlands hosts the New Caney Eagles in just a couple of days.