By Wayland D. Clark
Dripping Springs girls soccer defeated visiting Seguin 10-0 on March 15 before hitting the road to Kerrville the next day where they beat Tivy 4-1, finishing the regular season 21-0 and earning their fourth consecutive District Championship (16-0).
Ball control, an offense that attacks the net with precision, combined with a solid defense, All-Tournament player Riley Sisson from the 5A State Championship 2020-2021Team, and the MVP goalkeeper Caroline Dill, have allowed the Lady Tigers to outscore opponents 110-6 this season.
Dripping Springs won the 5A State Championship last year with a 1-0 win in the semi-final over Friendswood and took a 2-1 win over Frisco Wakeland in the Final. Senior Faith Wylie has been a part of it all since her freshmen year and recalls the thrill of it all, “I think we finished 3rd in State my freshman year and we were talented but I don’t think we had the team we have now,” Wylie said after a 10-0 win over Seguin in the final home game of the regular season “Every year we’ve gotten better but more importantly we’re a true team and more like a family now.”
The Lady Tigers lost 4-0 to Mansfield in the 2018-2019 5A semifinal and the 2019-2020 non-season of Covid left the team longing even more for the 5A Title.
A 4-3 penalty kick win in the regional semifinal over Boerne in her freshman year stood out as Wylie’s most memorable moment, although the bus rides and other games came to mind too. “The level of intensity on the field and bench, the whole game was incredible. It’s just one of those games that will always be in my head.”
The seniors from Wylie’s freshman year left a lasting impression too. “All the seniors were great, they gave all they had that year and let us know it would all fly by quickly,” Wylie recalled. “It taught me to hold on to the moment and give it all you can, while you can, because you never know when it will be over.”
Unlike B.B. King’s famous song, the thrill is not gone, memories are made and this undefeated, 21-0 team’s season and road back to the State Championship that began on January 1 with a 5-2 win over Steele rolls on.
