On Tuesday, March 5, the McKinney Christian Academy varsity women’s soccer team traveled three hours to play the state tournament at Round Rock. Their first game here was against Brookhill in the state semifinals. At the end of the first half, the Mustangs were up 2-0. These 2 goals were by senior Ava Thompson and junior Casey Gerardis. Sophomore Sadie Zbranek put one more in the net. The final score of this game was 3-0 with the Mustangs taking the win and moving on to the state finals. Sophomore captain Lizzie Gutschlag was asked about her thoughts on the game saying, “Our team played a really great game, and we connected our passes really well. Every girl played their hearts out which led us to an important win.”

On Wednesday, March 6, the MCA women’s varsity soccer team played Geneva Christian in the TAPPS 4A Division Three State Championship. Senior Ava Thompson started the game off strong for the mustangs and scored the first goal. At halftime, the varsity girls were getting talked up by their head coach Wendy McDowell with encouragement and wisdom. Going into the second half, Thompson was ready to play and scored 2 more goals leading to a final Mustang victory. Thompson finished her high school career with a hat trick that ultimately pushed the Mustangs to win the state finals. “I am so proud of each and every one of these girls. Everyone contributed throughout our season that led us to this championship title. Winning district, to winning a state championship, and finally to make MCA history makes my team and I so incredibly happy and proud. I will definitely be sad when I graduate but I wouldn’t change a thing about our season,” said Thompson. Geneva did score one goal, but it was not enough to comeback as the Mustangs took home the victory. After the final whistle, all the girls celebrated and sprinted into each other’s arms as they screamed with excitement. McDowell was asked about her thoughts concerning both the semi and final game saying, “I am so incredibly proud of these girls, this team, their commitment to their teammates, and their dedication throughout the entire season. We went up against teams both in the semis and the final match that had rosters twice the size of ours. This team played with everything they had although there was injury and adversity. It is important for our team to remember to always trust that God has a plan, purpose, and that we each have a part in his plan.” This state championship win was the first ever in MCA women’s soccer history.