Kingwood Park Girls Soccer

Kingwood Park opened District 20-5A play with an 8-0 shutout over Cleveland at Panthers Stadium Tuesday night.

It was a good start for the Lady Panthers, who are looking to get back to the state tournament — which features the final four teams left in the playoffs — yet again this season.
K-Park was poised to have a chance at another appearance in the state tournament last season for the third straight season, but that didn’t happen after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the UIL to cancel all spring athletics.

“We had 13 seniors last year, and they didn’t know it was going to be their last game,” said K-Park coach Jess White. “So, these girls have to play every game like it’s their last because it could be. They have to make every moment count because it could be taken away this year too.”

The Lady Panthers finished off last week 2-0 after defeating Caney Creek 3-0 on Friday night.

White has built the K-Park girls’ program into one of the top programs in the state since he arrived on campus back in 2011.

The Lady Panthers were ranked No. 1 in the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches preseason poll.

Replacing 13 seniors will have its challenges, but White is optimistic that his team will not miss a beat with hard work and dedication that begins at practice.

“I think it’s going to be a good blend of youth and experience on this team,” White said. “The girls enjoy working on the field. There’s always going to be excitement in this program and teamwork. These girls are going to compete and fight for each other.”

K-Park has sophomore forward Emma Yeager returning this season.

As a freshman, Yeager won the District 21-5A MVP, scoring 36 goals and eight assists for the Lady Panthers.

She was on her way to breaking Vanessa Valadez single season scoring record, which was 40 goals back in 2013.

White is looking forward to Yeager developing into more of a leadership role this season for the Lady Panthers.

“We have begun that conversation,” said White on Yeager’s leadership role. “Your age doesn’t really determine your leadership. But your poise and experience does, and she has all of that. We want her to kind of help mold the younger players around here. She’s not a massive vocal person, but she has been improving this season.”

Vital pieces also return for K-Park on the field. Senior midfielder Lorian Do returns along with senior defender Cora Morgenroth. Senior goalkeeper Samantha Valadez is back along with junior midfielder Kathleen Ortiz.

White is looking for the Lady Panthers to develop chemistry this season and enter the playoffs peaking.

It’s a one game at a time mentality for K-Park and the Lady Panthers have their eye on another state tournament playoff run.

“We’re trying to be as versatile as possible,” said White after the Cleveland game. “I think some girls got some good experiences, showing that they could play multiple positions. It’s good because we don’t know during the season if we might have people out that might be ill or injured. The more spots that you can play is the better for us. We just have to keep practicing hard in practice and translate that to game days. The girls are excited about the season and to get things going in district.”

marcus.gutierrez@chron.com
Twitter:@MarcG14Line