ROYSE CITY, Texas — I’ve seen high school soccer in the wind. I’ve seen high school soccer with fireworks. But I don’t recall seeing both blow through a regional final like what Forney High School unleashed Friday night.
ROYSE CITY, Texas — I’ve seen high school soccer in the wind. I’ve seen high school soccer with fireworks. But I don’t recall seeing both blow through a regional final like what Forney High School unleashed Friday night.
In a howlin’, gustin’, swirling mess of a 6A Division II Regional Final, it was the Lady Jackrabbits of Forney who brought the thunder — and the goals — in a 3-0 demolition of Wylie East.
Three goals. One half. All with the wind at their backs.
The party started early — third minute — when freshman midfielder Brooklynn Sosa lined up a free kick from 25 yards out on the right side. Looked like it was bending left, and then — like it caught a ride on a West Texas twister — the wind straightened it out and zipped it over the keeper’s hands. Goalie never had a chance.
You want a tone-setter? That was it.
Then came Devyn Gee, finishing off a slick one-touch dagger after a gorgeous feed from Delilah Rico in the 26th. By the time Addison Smith dropped a 30-yard bomb in the 35th minute, Wylie East was backpedaling and trying to catch its breath.
Wind-aided? Sure. But don’t get it twisted. Forney didn’t just have the wind. They had the will. And the skill.
Wylie East managed one real look just before halftime — a free kick with the clock winding down. That was it. Otherwise, the ball barely crossed midfield. Forney’s midfield, meanwhile, looked like it was on a string — intercepting, controlling, distributing.
The second half? That’s where Forney proved this wasn’t just a fluke of the weather. Now facing the gusts, they still controlled possession and launched wave after wave in the final 15 minutes, peppering the Wylie East goal and keeping the pressure on.
They didn’t need another goal. They just reminded everyone who was running the show.
After the match, Forney senior captain and forward Carson Mitchell spoke like a team leader with bigger goals in sight:
“The last two games have been very physical and we know it’s only going to get more tough. Coach Williamson, Wilkerson, and Bailey have kept us ready to go. We know we can go toe-to-toe with anyone, so we’ll be ready for the semis.”
And now they know who’s waiting.
Just minutes after Forney’s win, Flower Mound Marcus survived a nail-biter of their own, edging Prosper in a heart-stopper to punch their ticket to the state semifinals.
You want to crown ’em? Not yet. But make no mistake — this team ain’t sneaking up on anybody anymore.
They’re loud. They’re lethal. And tonight in Royse City, they looked like a team on a mission.
State, here they come.