Lady Dawgs capitalize on corner kick for playoff victory

For the third time in program history, the Burnet High School girls soccer team captured a bi-district championship thanks to a 1-0 win against China Spring March 25.

The Lady Dawgs (16-7-3, 11-4 District 18-4A third place) got the winning score on a corner kick by Kaycie Banton thanks to an assist from Reagan Shipley with about nine minutes left in the game.

Burnet will face Sealy (16-5-1, 13-1 District 20-4A champion), a 5-0 winner over Smithville, in the area round of the playoffs with date, site and time still to be determined.

“(China Spring) has talent and is a well-put-together-young team,” Lady Dawgs head coach Kimberly Myhre said. “We played really well. We brought the energy. It was fun, very stressful, and we got it done. We held together that last 10 minutes.”

Before the Lady Dawgs scored, they had been stopped on two other consecutive corner kicks. Shipley was able to get the ball behind China Spring goalie Raelyn Smith and Banton capitalized.

“Kaycie was there and walked it in,” Myhre said.

Most of the game was played on the Lady Cougars’ (12-7-2, 9-2-1 District 17-4 runner-up) side of the field. Myhre credited both defenses for the contest being played to a 0-0 halftime. That continued for 30 of the 40-minute second half. She noted both goalies, including Burnet’s Juliet Morales, refused to give up a goal. She also credited her defensive players — Bella Poppell, Emma Gonzales, Emily Wagner and Shipley — for responding to a changing lineup after senior Katelynn Massey’s season ended because of an injury.

“They had three or four shots total on us,” Myhre said. “We only had 11 shots (during the first half) on their side of the field, but I thought we played really well. Their goalie showed up to play. The China Spring goalie had some really good saves. (My defense) had each others’ backs. They were communicating and clearing the ball. We got our defense back clicking”

At the half, coaches and players made adjustments and picked up their intensity and determination to find a way to score.

“If we would have ended (regulation) tied, there would have been 20 extra minutes of overtime,” the coach said. “(That) was motivating. (At intermission) we said we have to get this ball. We were going to have to be creative (to score). We asked ‘how bad do you want this?’ We knew it was going to be a 1-0 game and whoever scored first was going to win.”

This bi-district win is the program’s first since 2018 and means plenty to all the players, from the seniors to the freshmen.

“It was a very big celebration,” Myhre said. “I’m so happy for them and proud of them and the fight they showed. They’re a special group — they proved that.”

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