The varsity girls’ soccer team is advancing to the second round of playoffs against Connally, after defeating McCallum 3-1 on Friday. The game is tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Connally.

“Connally is the team that Coach [Kristin] Stone coached before she came to coach here,” senior Paige Oliver said. “I think that will give us a great advantage in the game. We will have to really focus and make sure we listen to every tactic Coach gives us in preparing for our game on Tuesday.”

The team finished the season with a district record of 4-3-3, earning them third in the district.

“Our ability to get past our struggles has brought [the team] closer together and helped us to understand each other,” senior Ashley Lee said. “That makes us play well as a team.”

This year is Stone’s first season as head coach of the varsity team.

“Coach Stone has changed the program by really getting to know each player as a person and not just as a soccer player,” Oliver said. “She understands us extremely well and set her standards high from the start.”

The team started the season hoping to match its playoff run last season, in which it lost to Frisco Wakeland in the state championship game.

“Starting out our season with a completely new team was hard at first because we didn’t yet know each others’ strengths and weaknesses,” Lee said. “But now that we have been playing for a while, we all move well together.”

Though two starting seniors are out due to injury, the team hopes it can overcome adversity and make a successful playoff run again this year.

“Things have changed a lot since last year, and we have to put in more effort and work harder for what we want to achieve,” Oliver said. “We all have one goal in mind, and we know what it takes to accomplish that goal.”