With a 5-5 district record and the fourth playoff spot, the varsity girls scraped into playoffs. But there was nothing scrappy about their playoff run.

Traveling to LBJ for the first round game March 25, the Raiders scored four goals to defeat the Jaguars and win bi-district. Three days later they faced Georgetown East View in the area round, March 28. They won 4-0, advancing to the third round of playoffs.

“As a team we felt accomplished because of the two wins,” junior Samantha Mackay said. “It made us excited for what was to come.”

In the third round April 4, they faced district rival Vista Ridge, a team they lost both district matches to. In the first half, Vista scored first. After halftime, freshman Charlotte Wilson scored the tying goal and junior Katie Glenn scored the winning goal to end the Rangers’ season and help the team move on to the fourth round for the second year in a row.

The team traveled to New Braunfels to face an undefeated Alamo Heights team, April 7. Glenn scored the winning goal again to help the girls reach the regional tournament for the first time in school history.

“It was good to win,” Glenn said. “I didn’t really care who scored; it was a matter of winning the game.”

In Corpus Christi, the varsity girls faced Flour Bluff in the regional semifinal, April 11. They scored four goals in the first half and defeated the Hornets 6-0. In five playoff matches, the Raiders averaged 3.4 goals per game.

In the regional finals the next day, the team went up against district rival Vandegrift, a team the Raiders split games with during district. In very windy conditions, it was a defensive battle as no one scored in regulation. With a 0-0 score, the teams played two 10-minute overtimes for a trip to the state tournament.

In the first overtime, Vandegrift scored over goalie Nikita Spear’s head after she was brought to the ground by a kick. Spear had to come out of the game and the Vipers took advantage and scored again less than two minutes later.

“It was definitely a battle between us two,” Wilson said. “It was a really close game to overtime. And it was very unfortunate they scored on us twice, because our usual goalie was out. It was a pretty tough game, but it went really well.”

The Raiders finish a historic season with a 16-11 record, advancing six rounds into playoffs, only one game shy of the state tournament. The success is a high note motivating the returning players for next season.

“We’re losing important seniors,” Glenn said. “But the sophomores and juniors have really stepped up, so I’m excited to see what we can do next year.”