Burnet girls soccer beats Georgetown Gateway, heads to Marble Falls for regular-season finale

The Burnet High School girls soccer team defeated Georgetown Gateway 3-0 March 7 to remain undefeated in District 25-4A and capture the district crown for the first time in history.

The Lady Dawgs (21-2-1, 11-0) now want to win all 12 district matches without dropping a game. They can if they can beat Marble Falls at 7 p.m. Friday, March 10, at Mustang Stadium.

The Lady Mustangs are entering the contest after beating Jarrell 3-0 March 7 and are locked into the runner-up spot, no matter the result of the contest against Burnet. That’s because of the tie to Austin Achieve last week.

“We’re playing for pride,”Lady Mustangs head coach Abigail Blunt said. “We’re playing for the game you love and a rival. It’s a rivalry game; it’s always exciting and fun. And you don’t have to do a lot of pumping up.”

Playing Marble Falls is simply another milestone for the Lady Dawgs. The last two years have produced some commemorated occasions for the Lady Dawgs: advancing past the second round of the postseason for the first time and playing at the regional tournament, also for the first time.

Many of this year’s players were on that 2022 team and recalled the incredible feelings, rallies and other special moments that championship-level teams experience.

In many ways, this year’s athletes faced some higher hurdles and better challenges because 2022 showed the region and the state that Burnet produces some very talented players capable of playing with the best programs. And they accomplished all of that after finishing third in the district race last year.

“They have a lot of heart and a lot of fight and a lot of goals,” head coach Kimberly Myhre said. “We have three amazing captains (Kaycie Banton, Lainey Rye and Reagan Shipley) who push everybody. They set the bar high. And the girls weren’t satisfied last year. The goals are bigger and better.”

From the start of the season, the Lady Dawgs were the favorite to win the district championship. And they’ve performed at that high level, the coach said, even when opponents have given their best. Burnet has come from behind to win two matches: against Austin Achieve when the Lady Polar Bears took a 1-0 lead and ended up losing 7-1 and against Marble Falls, both in the first round.

Myhre noted the Lady Mustangs (11-3-1, 8-1) took a 1-0 lead a minute into the contest at Bulldog Field.

“We went back and scored 45 seconds later,” she said. “You may be coming for us, but you can’t show up and expect to win. Marble Falls came out fully loaded and ready to play. It was a wake-up call. Once they scored, my girls dug deep.”

That match helped the Lady Dawgs take to heart what their coaches had been telling them — Burnet gets every opponent’s best effort and the Lady Dawgs must play at their best, too.

And though Marble Falls led 2-1 and 3-2, Burnet scored three unanswered goals in the final five minutes for the win.

Blunt said her players learned plenty that match, too.

“They know they can do better,” she said. “They hold themselves to a high standard. They’re realizing they want to do better. It’s fun to watch them and coach them. They’re not satisfied. I think the girls have that drive.”

Burnet is averaging about six goals per district match and are committed to keeping its district record unblemished.

“It was a fight to the very end,” Myhre said of the first match against Marble Falls. “That comeback was huge. We came out and gave a lot more heart. They are very motivated, not only to be district champs but be undefeated district champs. We know it’s going to be a hard match. We’ve checked the district championship. Now let’s go play. They had a really good practice. Some will be at the track meet (March 9). I think they’re excited.”

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