The girls soccer team will face Clint High School this afternoon at Grande Communications Stadium in Midland at 2:45 p.m. for the first playoff game. The Lady Eagles went 7-2 in district, earning the district championship.

“This year has been different because we have girls that already know soccer and don’t have to learn it from the ground up,” girls head coach Charles Johnson said. “We also have incredible leadership. The seniors this year have made a huge impact on where the program is going not only this year but for years to come.”

Addison Warren, Emily DeBerry, Kaiyah Gomez and Carly Behrens are the seniors on the team.

“We’ve had more of a drive to win this year because the chances are in our favor,” Warren said. “We all have just worked really hard from the beginning knowing that.”

Last year in their 5A district, both soccer teams played schools with multiple sub-varsity soccer teams.

“Teams we would play in 5A would have big benches,” Warren said. “The 5A teams had a lot more experience since they had JVs before competing at the varsity level.”

Freshman Madeline Cates is an asset to the team this year with 146 saves so far. Cates is also one of the many starting freshmen this year.

“We have a great group of freshmen that are super coachable,” Johnson said. “As for Cates, she’s a beast, and she’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever had in that position.”

Cates has been playing soccer since she was 4 years old.

“It’s been nerve-racking, and it’s definitely a stressful position,” Cates said. “I’ve played goalie before, but in high school, it just doubles in pressure. Going into playoffs, though, we are just really determined since we’ve never gotten this far. We are just going to get out there and be ready to play.”