In high school soccer, there is typically not much of a buzz concerning non-district or non-tournament matches.
That is not the case today in Aledo.
Two state-ranked teams will square off to match their skills when the Class 5A No. 6 Aledo Ladycats face the Class 4A No. 1 Stephenville Honeybees at 6:30 p.m. today at Bearcat Stadium.
The Honeybees (10-0) bring quite the pedigree into the match. The ‘Bees were the 2017 Class 4A state champions and in 2018 fell in the regional semifinals to eventual state champion Midlothian Heritage.
In fact, 15 Honeybees on the current roster played on the 2017 state championship team that featured 12 freshmen and three sophomores.
The Ladycats (8-0-2) have also yet to suffer a defeat and are coming off an exciting match Tuesday with Midlothian High School. Aledo was down 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining in the match before Brooke Jones scored a pair of goals in a span of two minutes to tie the match. Jones’ first goal was set up by Vanessa Rajan and the second came on a free kick.
Ladycats head coach Bryan Johnson hopes the team feeds off the momentum gained Tuesday night.
Johnson has loaded the Ladycats’ non-district schedule. In addition to playing Stephenville today, the Aledo ladies will play at home Tuesday, Jan. 29 against 4A defending state-champion Midlothian Heritage.
“Stephenville will be an extremely competitive match," Johnson said. "I would think that in the end we would come out as the winner, but it will be a tough contest. I think it will be a great measuring stick for where we are as a team. (Stephenville) will be athletic, quick and have confidence because they are winners. I look forward to seeing how we match up with our young team and if we can hold them to zero goals.
“This game along with Tuesday’s game against Midlothian Heritage has us playing the last two state champs in 4A. I scheduled like this because I felt like we would play teams like this in our district.”
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