Joshua’s Maddy Bourzikas (22) battles for possession with Tatum Lowe (6) of Justin Northwest in a Class 5A area-round girls soccer match on Friday, March 29, 2024 at Boswell High School in Fort Worth ,Texas. Bourzikas finished with two goals in Joshua’s 4-1 win.
Oscar Perez
O&D Sports Photography
The high school soccer area round concluded on Friday. Plenty of Fort Worth-area girls and boys teams competed in the second round of the soccer playoffs.
Here is a roundup of results, stats and more from the area.
Saginaw boys soccer throttles Lake Dallas
Saginaw boys soccer had a historic performance Friday night at Chisholm Trail High School, winning an area round playoff game for the first time in program history.
Saginaw (13-8-2) defeated Lake Dallas 3-1, taking an early lead and keeping control for the rest of the game while maintaining long possessions. The Rough Riders will face Midlothian in the regional quarterfinals at a time and place that is to be determined.
FINAL | Saginaw 3, Lake Dallas 1
Last season, Saginaw won three total games and finished 6th in district play…
One year later, the Rough Riders advance to the regional quarterfinals with a strong victory. @emsisdathletics pic.twitter.com/bHAlX0jqHj
— Charles Baggarly (@swaggarly) March 30, 2024
“We performed really well,” Saginaw head coach Colin Yocomb said. “They came in with a lot of energy. It was a big moment for us. We’re very excited.”
In the 2023 season, Saginaw finished sixth in district play and won three total games. One year later, the Rough Riders put together the most successful season in program history.
“Huge improvements,” Yocomb said. “It was a struggle last year. We had some injuries and some things didn’t go our way. This year we have a lot of experience. The boys have done a fantastic job. … They play as a team. They love each other. This is a big moment.”
Saginaw prevented Lake Dallas scoring opportunities, ensuring the Falcons didn’t have possession of the ball deep inside Rough Rider territory.
“Defense did really well,” Yocomb said. “That’s one of the reasons why their offense didn’t do too much. And our midfield did really well too.”
Sal Ruiz scored the first goal for Saginaw, and senior center defensive midfielder Michael Burch added another via penalty kick to give the Rough Riders a 2-0 lead 20 minutes into the game.
Center midfielder Alan Velasquez extended the lead, and Saginaw held a comfortable lead the rest of the way. Lake Dallas (16-5-3) added a late goal on a controversial penalty that resulted in a penalty kick.
Joshua girls score early, often to oust Justin Northwest
Joshua scored three first-half goals, the first in the third minute, as the Owls dispatched Justin Northwest 4-1 in a girls Class 5A area-round soccer match on Friday at Fort Worth Boswell High School.
Joshua (18-5-1), the third-place team out of District 8-5A, will hope to equal the furthest its girls soccer team has every advanced in the playoffs if they win against Wichita Falls Rider (21-1-4) in the regional quarterfinals on Tuesday. Rider defeated the 8-5A runner up Burleson Centennial 2-1 in overtime on Friday.
Joshua scored on its first two shots of the game.
Maddy Bourzikas took control of the ball deep in her own end and dribbled the length of the pitch before the senior made a move on a defender 20 yards out then put a solid chip over the Northwest goalkeeper, into the back of the net in the third minute.
“I’m a very direct player,” said Bourzikas, a senior. “I tend to go on the outsides and I like to take them with speed.
“Our team did really well getting me the ball and passing it through the backs. We did really well as a team and I’m proud of how far we’ve come.”
The Owls made it 2-0 in the 16th minute when Kennedy Gortney made a perfect corner kick to Abigale Miller who headed it in from point blank range.
Joshua added a goal in the 33rd minute when a free kick from 50 yards out went right through the Texans keeper and Hannah Day was there to tap it in for the Owls to make it 3-0.
Northwest (9-11-2) only had three shots in the first half, one on goal, going into a stiff wind. Kaley Schnoes crossed a shot from the left side from 15 yards out that freshman keeper Dillyn Hammons had to make a diving save on for Joshua in the 16th minute.
Joshua coach Jeff Brooks was pleased with the first-half goals, but was not pleased with the response of his team to the increasing physical play by a Northwest side that seemed to get more frustrated with every Joshua goal.
“Score aside, our intensity level wasn’t what we wanted in the first half,” said Brooks. “We played hard, but they knew and we knew that we had to do more if we wanted to win that game.”
And Joshua did get tough, giving back some of the physical play that they had been
getting. Brooks was more pleased with the play and the 1-1 second-half tie playing into a brisk wind.
“There was a lot more fire in the girls in the second half,” added Brooks. “I felt like the grit level went up in the second half and that’s something that you can take off of the soccer field and into real life.”
The Texans finally got on the board after the half, with the wind, when Natalia Rivera Lorenze scored on a 30 yard free kick. Lorenzo beat Hammons to the front left corner of the goal to cut the lead to 3-1 in the 67th minute.
But Joshua answered back a minute later. A pass to Bourzikas off the restart found her 35 yards out.
The senior dribbled in and beat the Northwest goalkeeper to the short, right side from seven yards out to up the Owl’s lead to 4-1.
“I think that emotions were getting more intense for them and in turn that really sparked the emotions for us,” said Bourzikas. “We weren’t going to take them being physical and not be physical back.”
Joshua didn’t get another shot off the rest of the way while Northwest was pressuring, but couldn’t get the ball past Hammons who made several good saves.
“Maddy (Bourzikas) just works so hard and she’s gotten better and better each year,” said Brooks. “It’s one thing to have talent, and she’s a talented player, but she cares and she works hard.
“You watch the second half and she’s playing central midfielder to try to get us out and do whatever we need to do to win. Goals aside, this is a great human being that soccer will be the least of the great things she does.”
Diamond Hill-Jarvis boys storm by Gatesville
Diamond Hill-Jarvis boys soccer, the No. 1 class 4A team in the Fort Worth-area rankings, took care of business in the area round.
DHJ defeated Gatesville 3-0, shutting out the Hornets. Gatesville (11-7-2) defeated Kennedale 6-4 in the bi-district round.
Josh Montanez, Rooney Resendiz and Anuar Rodriguez scored goals for the Eagles. Goalkeeper Emmanuel Zuniga tallied the shutout. Diamond Hill-Jarvis (19-5) will face Bridgeport or Stephenville in the regional quarterfinals, depending on the outcome of the two squads’ area round game on Saturday.
Keller boys soccer toppled by Pebble Hills
Keller (15-3-4) entered the area round as the Fort Worth-area’s No. 1 ranked Class 6A team.
Keller, however, was defeated by Pebble Hills 2-1 on Friday in Midland, Texas. The Indians lone goal scorer was senior Riker Doolittle.
Justin Northwest boys fall to Midlothian
Justin Northwest’s season came to an end of Friday at Midlothian ISD Stadium with a 5-2 loss to Midlothian.
The area round loss ended a 2024 run that included a first place finish in district 5-5A. Ulices Urtiz and Jeremiah Shawaluk were the goal scorers for the Northwest Texans.
Colleyville Heritage girls soccer thumps Azle
Colleyville Heritage (20-0-2) is cruising by the competition in the playoffs, and Azle (14-8-2) was its latest victim.
Heritage defeated Azle 6-0, making a statement in the area round on Friday. The Panthers still haven’t lost a game, which is a great sign for them heading into the regional quarterfinals.
Addison Shimmick, a freshman, scored two goals while Allie Love did the same en route to six total points.
Addison Bizjack added a goal and an assist, and Ashlyn Bringedahl also scored. Can anyone stop the Panthers?
Southlake Carroll girls soccer steamrolls Midland
Southlake Carroll (23-0-1) is the No. 1 ranked team in all of Texas for a reason.
The Lady Dragons scored goal after goal against Midland on Friday at Shotwell Stadium, securing an emphatic 9-0 area round victory. Six players scored for Southlake Carroll: Kamdyn Fuller, Hannah Jordan, Caroline Holcombe, Olivia Holcombe, Laney Maclin and Ava Olson.
Byron Nelson girls soccer shuts down El Paso Eastlake
Byron Nelson girls soccer’s defense thrived on Friday against El Paso Eastlake on Friday at Lubbock Cooper High School.
Byron Nelson (17-2-3) secured a 4-1 victory, advancing to the regional finals where they’ll face Wolfforth Fresnship. Last season, the Bobcats made it to a regional final and lost to Flower Mound Marcus.
Will the Bobcats make it to state this season? They had a stellar performance from Grace Berry, who scored three goals and also tallied an assist to Nadia Ortiz. Goalkeepers Emma Grace Jeffiers and Taylor McHugh combined for a shutout.
Boys scores
River Oaks Castleberry 2, Waxahachie Life 1
El Paso Montwood 2, Euless trinity 1
El Paso Eastlake 2, Southlake Carroll 0
Tyler Legacy 2, Mansfield Lake Ridge 0
Denton 2, Aledo 1
Odessa Permian 2, Hurst L.D. Bell 1
Denton Ryan 4, Everman 0
Salado 3, Decatur 1
Girls scores
Prosper 5, Arlington 2
Keller Timber Creek 2, San Angelo Central 0 (OT)
Wolfforth Frenship 1, Keller 1 (Frenship advances in SO 4-3)
Rockwall 1, Mansfield 0
Midlothian 6, Aledo 0
Wylie East 8, Mansfield Lake Ridge 1
Benbrook 3, China Spring 2
Prosper 5, Arlington 2
Wichita Fallas Rider 2, Arlington 1
Life Waxahachie 7, Diamond Hill-Jarvis 0
Salado 2, Decatur 1
This story was originally published March 29, 2024, 10:55 PM.
Charles Baggarly is a high school sports editor and reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He graduated from TCU in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and served as TCU 360’s sports editor. Connect with Charles on Twitter or via email.
