Lady Scots Cruise to 9-Goal Victory in Bi-District
ROYSE CITY — Just like they did on their run to the Class 4A state title last season, the Highland Park Lady Scots dismantled their first playoff opponent.
Highland Park got two goals each from Hope Hyde, Savannah Jones, Katie Martin, and Abby Tisdale en route to a 10-1 whipping of Paris North Lamar in a Class 4A bi-district contest on Monday evening. The win ran the Lady Scots’ unbeaten streak to 43 consecutive matches. Brittany Webb and Kate Summers also scored goals.
Highland Park (19-0-5) will take on the Frisco-Prosper winner in the area round later this week. Those two teams square off tonight at The Colony.
“After last year, we know what it takes on a daily basis,” Lady Scots head coach Stewart Brown said. “You have to have the ability to be flexible and get up for the big games. They’re all big games now. There’s no second chances now. The girls understand that after our conversation on the bus. When we came out to the field today, you could just see it in their eyes — ‘OK, this is when the fun starts.’ That’s the mentality of this group.”
After being called offside five times in the first eight minutes of the match, Highland Park unleashed its offense beginning with back-to-back goals by Tisdale in a span of 33 seconds. By halftime, the Lady Scots had extended their lead to 7-0 over an overwhelmed Pantherettes squad.
“We had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the most competitive team we’ve played,” said Tisdale, who also had an assist on one of Jones’ goals. “We were focused on what we’re preparing for in games to come. We wanted to practice good habits and playing as a team. It’s definitely a lot more nerve-wracking. Last year, we didn’t really have a lot to lose if we didn’t win it. Now, we have everything to lose. It’s definitely more of a push now that you have the feeling of what it’s like to win state. All you want to do is win more.”
After taking a 10-0 lead with 22:08 to play, Highland Park spent the rest of the match playing keep-away from North Lamar (8-12-1). The Pantherettes never mounted any serious offensive threat the entire match until they avoided the shutout with a goal as time expired.
“We worked hard to get to this point,” Brown said. “We knew this was a game that we should have taken care of fairly convincingly, and we did. Now, this is where the next games get much tougher. We’ve just got to be prepared. This also gave everybody some [playing] time, and we worked on a couple of things.”
