Bears, Knights Bring Home TAPPS Titles

ROUND ROCK — Ursuline wasn’t letting its senior class leave the soccer field with a loss.

Instead, the Bears used a four-goal second half to hammer Plano John Paul II 5-1 in the TAPPS Division I state championship game on Friday at the Round Rock Athletic Complex.

“I love it for our group of nine seniors,” Ursuline coach Darrin Hedges said. “They’ve really worked hard in their careers and most of them have been with it all four years. And as a whole, we really came out and played well.”

Madison Riley scored midway through the first half to put Ursuline on the scoreboard. The Cardinals tied the game on a header off a corner kick just before halftime.

“I felt at halftime that we were playing really good soccer and that the table was going to turn in our favor and we’d get some better looks,” Hedges said. “The big thing was, our big-time players really showed up today. The kids we’ve counted on all year, they played today and that really showed up on the scoreboard.”

The Bears dominated the second half, taking advantage of the wide field, ruling possession and creating numerous scoring chances.

They got a break when a corner kick bounced off a JPII player into the goal shortly after halftime. Then Audrey Bryant’s two goals sandwiched a long-range strike from Madeline Tiffany as Ursuline built its four-goal lead.

“We took advantage of the wide field and got our backs involved heavily in today’s game and that led to a couple of corner kicks that we scored on,” Hedges said. “I feel like our kids got their second wind in the second half. I was nervous coming in because the semifinal game [Thursday] took a lot out of us. But I was proud of the kids for how they played the second half.”

Quetzabel Garza, Isabella Zanoni, Bryant and Riley were named to the all-tournament team for the Bears, who avenged last year’s semifinal loss to the Cardinals.

Ursuline outlasted Parish Episcopal in penalty kicks in the semifinals after a scoreless draw through regulation and two overtime periods.

Covenant claims Division III title

In the third straight meeting between Dallas Covenant and Schertz John Paul II for the TAPPS Division III state title, the Knights emphatically returned to the top spot.

After beating the Guardians in 2021 and losing last year, Covenant dictated play from start to finish on Friday in a 4-1 victory.

“The seniors are the rock of our team,” Covenant coach Pete Fitzsimmons said. “Last year they fell short against the same team, and this year our mentality was to believe, have faith, and this year to finish it. And for our girls to do that really says a lot about our team.”

Baylor signee Kaitlin Swann had two goals, and Naomi Daniels and Presley Pinkston also scored for the Knights.

Daniels’ one-touch off a corner kick midway through the first half gave Covenant its lead, then Pinkston finished a breakaway early in the second half. Swann put away a shot after tracking down a through-ball a short time later to give the Knights a three-goal cushion.

“Getting the first goal was huge,” Fitzsimmons said. “At halftime, we switched some things to counter what they were good at. Naomi stepped into the center midfield position, Kaitlin took over up top, and Presley moved to forward. We knew one goal wouldn’t be enough and those changes were huge. Kaitlin wore down their defense and that helped lead to the late goals.”

Madeline Seebeck had JPII’s goal midway through the second half, but Swann answered with her second goal less than a minute later on a shot from more than 20 yards out.

Daniels, Swann, Amiya Brown and Chloe Fox were named to the all-tournament team for the Knights.

“It was a good comeback year,” Daniels said. “For the seniors’ last dance, it was great to win that final game for our school.”