After a successful season, the girls soccer team will compete in their firsts playoffs game on Thur. March 24, at 7:00 p.m. against Lone Star High School at the Mckinney ISD stadium.

On March 18, the varsity team was named district champions after their 7-0 victory against Princeton High School at the Children’s Health Stadium.

“Our theme for the off season was ‘Above the line’ we were intent on doing everything better,” head girls soccer coach Manuel Cordova said. “[The team] did not want to miss the playoffs two years in a row so they made progress in everything we did as a team.”

The team ended their season last year after just making it short of being eligible for the playoffs. Only the top four teams are eligible for playoffs, and the team placed fifth last season.

“They worked extremely hard as a group,” Cordova said. “[The team was] motivated to improve from the previous season and did a great job of working on it. They wanted to be better and were also willing to work hard to accomplish their goals.”

In order to improve from the past season, the team set goals at the beginning of the school year as a team to help envision what they wanted to achieve for their second full season.

“Going into this season we had [three] goals, 1 was to make the playoffs, 2 was always being positive on/off the field, 3, be ONE team,” junior Avery Wheeler said. “As the season progressed we saw how well we were doing and added a new team goal of being first place in districts which we achieved.”

Despite the success the team found with making goals, the team initially faced some challenges with getting every team member on board.

“In a team, people are always gonna be more involved than others, and when we were discussing our team goals we realized everyone had to buy in to them,” Wheeler said. “[Goals] can’t be achieved without everyone doing their part and believing it’s possible. It took a while to get [everyone] involved, but eventually we all wanted the same thing which is what makes us a great team.”

The team’s motivation and goals allowed them to have a victorious season with only one loss. Despite this being the teams first ever playoffs game, they are dedicated to playing to the best of their ability and staying confident in their abilities.

“Our mentality going into this game is to work as hard as possible because win or lose no one can take away your work rate,” Wheeler said. “We know that when you are on the field you’re giving it your all because we are fighting to keep our season alive.”

With that being said, the coaches feel that the team’s perseverance to overcome challenges and dedication sets them apart.

“Through the season we have taken it one game at a time and tried to be the best we can be one day at a time,” Cordova said. “Us working hard and focusing on the process has set our TEAM apart.”

With 19 wins this season, the varsity girls soccer team currently ranks ninth in the state of Texas and third within the 5A division.

“We have worked so hard all season to get a spot in the play-offs and we [are] honored to be representing the crest on our shirt,” freshman Kaylee Humble said.

Article will be updated once the date of round two is released.