FORNEY, Texas – Unfortunately for the Forney High School boys and girls soccer teams, their seasons came to an end last night with both teams losing their matchups in the UIL Class 4A Region II regional quarterfinals.
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Both teams made Forney Independent School District history by becoming the first soccer teams to reach such a high level in the postseason since the soccer program's inception in 2003-04.
The Forney High School girls (16-9-4 overall, 10-4 district) soccer team played Highland Park (20-4-1 overall, 8-0 district) at Wildcat-Ram Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday night, April 8, 2014. The game began at 6 p.m. with the wind at their backs – Highland Park capitalized on the advantage early by scoring two goals in the first nine minutes of play.
Forney, determined not to go into halftime down by two goals, fought for a late first-half goal which was sunk into the backside of the net by Caylon McMillan and just out of reach for the Highland Park keeper. Highland Park led at halftime 2-1.
Forney tied the game midway through the second half with a goal off the foot of Rebecca Huffman, 2-2, and forced the game into overtime play. Highland Park scored the game winning goal in the first overtime.
“They played with heart and intensity,” said Trisha Williamson, Head Coach for the girls soccer team. “We gave them a run for their money there at the end. But unfortunately it was just too little too late. [The girls] left it all out there on the field.”
Since Williamson began coaching at Forney in 2008-09, she has made it a point to schedule Highland Park. "Each year we got a little closer to competing with them," she said. In 2010, Highland Park knocked Forney out of the playoffs, 1-0. The loss, however, was a far stretch from the team's first matchup where Highland Park delivered a crushing victory over Forney, 11-0. Next year, Highland Park will move up to the new UIL Class 6A and Forney will compete in the new UIL Class 5A.
The Forney High School boys (16-7-4 overall, 7-3-2 district) soccer team played Frisco Liberty (24-1 overall, 9-1 district) at Mustang-Eagle Stadium in Richardson, Texas, at 8 p.m., the same night. Forney scored the sole goal in the first half of the game to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Both teams came into the second half with a different attitude and more intensity – with their regional hopes on the line. Although Forney's goalkeeper Tristen Putnam made several world-class saves, Frisco was able to score an equalizer to tie the game, 1-1, with 15:22 remaining on the clock. Frisco scored an additional goal late in the second half to take the lead 2-1, leaving Forney minimal time to contest.
“Our guys work hard and they've worked hard since August,” said Kris Duplissey, Head Coach for the boys soccer team. “ We played well. We made two defensive mistakes and they scored on both. That's part of the game.”
The list of soccer players making the 1st team, 2nd team, and other district superlatives will be published shortly, stay tuned to inForney.com.
The Forney High School girls (16-9-4 overall, 10-4 district) soccer team played Highland Park (20-4-1 overall, 8-0 district) at Wildcat-Ram Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday night, April 8, 2014. The game began at 6 p.m. with the wind at their backs – Highland Park capitalized on the advantage early by scoring two goals in the first nine minutes of play.
Forney, determined not to go into halftime down by two goals, fought for a late first-half goal which was sunk into the backside of the net by Caylon McMillan and just out of reach for the Highland Park keeper. Highland Park led at halftime 2-1.
Forney tied the game midway through the second half with a goal off the foot of Rebecca Huffman, 2-2, and forced the game into overtime play. Highland Park scored the game winning goal in the first overtime.
“They played with heart and intensity,” said Trisha Williamson, Head Coach for the girls soccer team. “We gave them a run for their money there at the end. But unfortunately it was just too little too late. [The girls] left it all out there on the field.”
Since Williamson began coaching at Forney in 2008-09, she has made it a point to schedule Highland Park. "Each year we got a little closer to competing with them," she said. In 2010, Highland Park knocked Forney out of the playoffs, 1-0. The loss, however, was a far stretch from the team's first matchup where Highland Park delivered a crushing victory over Forney, 11-0. Next year, Highland Park will move up to the new UIL Class 6A and Forney will compete in the new UIL Class 5A.
The Forney High School boys (16-7-4 overall, 7-3-2 district) soccer team played Frisco Liberty (24-1 overall, 9-1 district) at Mustang-Eagle Stadium in Richardson, Texas, at 8 p.m., the same night. Forney scored the sole goal in the first half of the game to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Both teams came into the second half with a different attitude and more intensity – with their regional hopes on the line. Although Forney's goalkeeper Tristen Putnam made several world-class saves, Frisco was able to score an equalizer to tie the game, 1-1, with 15:22 remaining on the clock. Frisco scored an additional goal late in the second half to take the lead 2-1, leaving Forney minimal time to contest.
“Our guys work hard and they've worked hard since August,” said Kris Duplissey, Head Coach for the boys soccer team. “ We played well. We made two defensive mistakes and they scored on both. That's part of the game.”
The list of soccer players making the 1st team, 2nd team, and other district superlatives will be published shortly, stay tuned to inForney.com.