KFDM COOP Posted January 7, 2009 Report Posted January 7, 2009 Prep soccer season opens today By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News Some local high school soccer teams have awaited this weekend for a year, while others have really had only a handful of practice hours together. Ready or not, the 2009 UIL-sanctioned soccer games become official today with some area squads participating in weekend tournaments. Leave to one of the finest area soccer veterans to lead the way. Memorial girls soccer mentor Phil Mattingly takes his Lady Titans to Beaumont this afternoon for the Golden Triangle's opener, the Kelly Winter Classic. Memorial will test Beaumont Ozen today in the Kelly tournament at 5 p.m. Two hours later, the same tournament features an interesting matchup between Port Neches-Groves and Vidor at 7 p.m. Another area veteran, Nederland's Julie Johnson, takes her Lady Bulldogs back to Marble Falls for a 2:30 game on Friday against Lampasas in the Marble Falls tournament. The most demanding season opener may occur Friday for coach Don Sandell's PN-G boys when they will enter the Montgomery tournament against Houston Bellaire at 3 p.m. The last two teams to open the season -- Nederland's boys and Memorial's boys -- will collide with each other Friday night in Nederland's Bulldog Stadium at 7 p.m. The UIL's soccer realignment definitely has helped the playoff prospects for all six of these area schools. PN-G and Nederland are bunched with Beaumont Central, Beaumont Ozen, Little Cypress-Mauriceville and West Orange-Stark in the boys division of 38-4A with four of the six qualifying for the playoffs. Since WO-S does not compete in girls soccer, the 38-4A girls race contains only PN-G, Nederland, Central, Ozen and LC-M. So four of five advance into the post-season. Memorial is grouped in a six-team 21-5A league with West Brook, Lee, Sterling, North Shore and Channelview. Four of the six move on to the post-season. "I think our district lightened up a little bit, losing those three Humble schools," Titans head coach Brian Morgan said. "Humble is been so dominant in soccer." Mattingly is concerned that his defense holds up well enough although he likes his offensive trio of freshman Joanna Banda, sophomore Kristeen Reynolds, and junior Evelyn Torres.
Recommended Posts