Lady Dawgs earn another tough district road victory
The Burnet High School girls soccer team’s business-like approach resulted in another big road win March 8. The Lady Dawgs (15-6-3, 11-3 District 18-4A) beat Lampasas 3-0 and put themselves in position to finish second in the district standings if they can beat Salado in the regular season finale on Monday, March 14.
Against the Lady Badgers (7-4, 5-8), Burnet had to overcome an unexpected challenge when senior sweeper Katelynn Massey exited the game. That forced head coach Kimberly Myhre to adjust her lineup.
The result was a 2-0 lead at the half. Sophomore Amelia Griffin scored two goals and was assisted by sophomores Kaycie Banton and Reagan Shipley. Shipley recorded the final goal on a free kick from 25 yards out.
“The team came together as a whole and put in the work to complete the win,” Myhre said. “Sophomore Juliet Morales had some great saves in the back to keep the shut out.”
Myhre couldn’t commend her players enough. She noted the Lady Dawgs boarded the bus for the short trip north with the mindset of being mentally prepared to compete. Then they arrived early enough to cheer on their classmates on the softball team as the Lady Dawgs on the diamond were on their way to winning 9-0. Also watching the softball game were members of the Lampasas soccer team.
“That helped,” Myhre said of the softball results.
As the teams made their way to the pitch, the Lady Dawgs had a terrific warm-up and were mentally, emotionally and physically ready to play. Massey’s departure, which came when Burnet led 1-0, also showed coaches other characteristics of their players.
The first is the senior leadership. Myhre noted the other seven seniors gathered their teammates and kept everyone focused on the task at hand. Myhre moved sophomore Haley Bartlett to sweeper and inserted freshman Adriana Briggs.
“Adriana stepped up. She did well,” the coach said. “Haley shined back there also. (They) stepped up in a huge way for us on defense.”
Perhaps the most impressive part of the contest wasn’t the results on the scoreboard; it was witnessing how the Lady Dawgs implemented what coaches have been saying about mentally preparing to play no matter if a player is a starter or not.
“We preach that a lot,” Myhre said. “You never know when it’s your turn to step onto the field. If I call on you, even if it’s two minutes, you have to be ready to go and play at that higher level. As a program if I put you in and you’re ready to go, the speed of the game doesn’t change. This group has done well in doing that.”
Burnet travels to Salado for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Monday, March 14, to end the regular season. The junior varsity plays at 5 p.m. Both matches are at Eagle Stadium, 620 Thomas Arnold Road in Salado. Myhre said her players have a singular focus and are happy to contribute to accomplishing the tasks on the to-do list.
“They’re excited to be apart of it,” she said. “They all have the same goal and are on the same page. The entire varsity girls want it. It’s a drive for sure.”
