HS Girls Soccer: The Woodlands Win Blockbuster Matchup Against Grand Oaks

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The matchup that is quickly turning into a friendly rivalry; The Woodlands and Grand Oaks go at it for the second time this season. The first matchup was held at Grand Oaks, which resulted in a tie, but this time The Woodlands has home field advantage.

In the beginning Grand Oaks would come out strong, attacking the net and cutting through The Woodlands defense. They would essentially put pressure on the goalkeeper and hold the ball on The Woodlands side of the field.

On one of the Grand Oaks’ attacks, The Woodlands would unfortunately get called for a hand ball in the box which would result in a penalty kick from just a few yards out. The Grizzlies would strike first and put pressure on the Lady Highlanders to get some points on the board.

“I looked at them and said we are fine, let’s play. It was early and it was unfortunate” said The Woodlands head coach Frankie Whitlock to encourage the Lady Highlanders to keep battling.

And play they did. The Woodlands would come back and up the pressure and momentum on the Grand Oaks defenders. In the 27th minute, Freya Hayes would get one past the goalkeeper and tie up the game 1-1.

The Woodlands wouldn’t stop there as they kept attacking the goal before the half was over. With a couple of minutes left Natasha Budisa would also find the back of the net and chalk up another goal for the Lady Highlanders. This would give The Woodlands a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.

Grand Oaks would come out in the second half and struggle with The Woodlands defense. Although pushing the pace, they would have a hard time getting to the goal and past the back defenders. The Woodlands would keep pressure on the ball and create many turnovers.

In the 8th minute of the second half Riley Peterson would give The Woodlands another goal and increase the lead 3-1. The Grizzlies would try to answer back with a couple of attacks at the goal but none of the shots could pass the line.

The Woodlands would eventually win the matchup, 3-1 and continue their win streak in the district season. They will face Cleveland next while Grand Oaks hosts Oak Ridge later this week.

Coach Whitlock would reflect on the team and how they accomplished their win. “It’s the maturity of the team, they just push forward. They want the whole 80 minutes to make sure they can take care of things.”