Orange and white streamers line the Westwood bleachers as friends and family enthusiastically lift their homemade posters into the air, cheering on the varsity girls soccer team in their second University Interscholastic League (UIL) district game on Friday, March 21. The Warriors defeated the Dripping Springs Tigers 2-1. As the UIL playoffs are a knockout tournament, only the winning team could advance, so the stakes were extremely high. Since the regular district season is over, this win was very important for the team, especially for the seniors to ensure their spot in the next round of playoffs. 

“It means so much because for a lot of the seniors, if we lost today that would have been our last game together,” Bella Keene ‘25 said. “I think that’s what everyone was fighting for, is to go far for the school but also to have one more week playing together.

After kickoff, both teams came up with high energy to attempt to get the first goal lead. The Warriors repeatedly got close to shooting goals while focusing on offense. But, shifting the momentum toward the Warriors with nine minutes left in the first half, Mia Wiele ’26 crossed the ball to Kylie Denton ‘25 who scored the first goal of the game. Momentum was high and so just moments later, Kaheligh Coughlin ‘26 attempted a shot, barely missing the goal, keeping the Tigers on edge. Finishing the first half, both teams exerted their maximum effort as supporters jangled cowbells and the student section erupted in yells.

“We started off strong, and I think like it just from the whistle, we just started off really well and it just kept getting better from there,” Wiele said.

After an uneventful beginning to the half, Coughlin dribbled to the box and jammed in the second goal for the Warriors, setting them up with two unanswered points. With time running out, the Warriors were close to a shutout win, but with less than 10 minutes left in the game, Dripping Springs finally hit a free kick from a Warrior foul. The end of the game did not die down as the Tigers found a second wind in response to their first goal. While previously, the Warriors were more focused on offense, after the Tigers’ goal, the team shifted to defense to ensure their win and next playoff appearance.

“I think for the rest of the playoffs we just kind of need to come out like how we did today and keep giving it 100%, because we can do it and just take our chances,” Wiele said.

With their second playoff win, the Warriors moved to face off against Lee High School from San Antonio on Tuesday, March 25 earning themselves the title of area champions. With that win in the bag, the team is now moving on to the third round of UIL playoffs which will take place on Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m. for a home game at the Warrior Bowl.

In the last home game of the regular season, the varsity women’s soccer team beat the Vandegrift Vipers 2-1 on Tuesday, March 11. This win continued their season-long victory streak and brought home their 15th win of the season.

Just within five minutes of kickoff, the Vipers found a break in the field and were able to score on the Warriors. Although this was an early setback, the goal solely motivated the Warriors to not let another goal in and to get themselves on the board. As soon as the opposite team got control of the ball, the Warriors’ entire team moved up the field to collectively pressure the Vipers and ensure that no other goals got past the defensive line. Not only their strategy in response to the goal, but also their reaction was a turning point for the rest of the game.

“At the beginning when we got scored on, I think we had a great response,” Lanier Harvey ‘25 said. “Instead of putting our heads down, we came back and scored two goals, and I think that effort is gonna prepare us for playoffs.” 

With a few minutes left in the first half, Mia Wiele ‘26 shot a corner kick which rebounded to the Warriors, allowing Carla Canfran to pop in a short range goal soon after. This shot tied the game 1-1 only a handful of moments after the initial whistle.

“We practice our corners a lot, so just getting rebounds off of corners worked really well during the game,” Harvey said. “We also won a lot more 50/50s, which is something we’ve really been trying to do.”

Payton Vopat ‘26 saw an opportunity when the ball was hit into the box but blocked by the goalie, following up on her teamate’s shot she headed it into the goal, cementing the 2-1 lead for the Warriors. The Vipers repeatedly attempted to advance across the field to shoot a goal in the intense game, but couldn’t push much farther than midfield to get through the defensive line.

“I think it was a really good game,” Nadia Giannetti ‘26 said. “We came up from being down one and then obviously we got the win tonight. I’m super proud of the team and it just shows that our determination is really strong and the connection we have on this team is gonna make us do really well in playoffs.” 

By defeating the Vista Ridge Rangers that Friday, March 14 in a score of 4-2, the Warriors earned a spot to compete in the first round of 6A playoffs which will take place on Friday, March 21 at the Warrior Bowl at 7:30 p.m. for their next game.