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Bittersweet: Lions overachieving year ends too soon
Photo courtesy of John Tyler of buzzzphotos.com
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
After an undefeated district run, the McKinney boys soccer team entered the playoffs with high expectations.
The Lions (16-3-3) had been assured of not just a spot in the playoffs, but a district championship well before the regular season was over. Their profile was on the rise and by all accounts, they were a quality program ready for their real season to begin.
But from that apex, the Lions swung downward to a 1-0 bi-district loss to Frisco Wakeland last Friday.
Three times McKinney tried to move the ball the few inches needed to score. The shots were quick, making it difficult to judge if they crossed the line, and each time the Wolverines did enough to keep it that way.
The Lions’ overachieving ways had come to an end, or at least their season had. The fact that their first-round exit was considered an upset at all was the final touch to a season that went well beyond expectations.
McKinney entered the year with a young, untested roster that had head coach Alan Pocock hoping to just make the playoffs. They did that with ease but in the end, McKinney wasn't satisfied with just one extra game.
The Lions raised the stakes by winning their second consecutive undefeated district title, something they had never done before. They raised the stakes by not losing a game in over two months. They raised the stakes by making what should have been their highest aspirations a given.
“This was a group that in December and January – with the way we were playing – I was going to be grateful to make the playoffs,” Pocock said. “But the way they stepped up their play to start district was just massive.”
But in the end, the biggest challenge for the Lions was one of the few they'd already faced.
Friday's loss wasn't the first time McKinney played Wakeland. The teams had also met in pre-district play at the Dr. Pink Invitational and tied, 0-0. The Lions, who had 14 players on the roster who were seeing their first varsity action back then, were decided underdogs in that match. The second time around, they were the favorites.
“They were the best team we played since playing Wakeland in pre-district,” Pocock said.
The second meeting featured a much quicker pace than the first, something the Lions had prepared for and hoped to take advantage of with an aggressive start and early goal. That turned out to be a winning strategy, but the Wolverines were the ones to put in play on a goal from Tristan Honaker in the 10th minute.
And while McKinney set up more scoring opportunities than Wakeland the rest of the way, they never managed to land the equalizer. The game continued to bounce the Wolverines' way, leading up to that set of last-minute deflections that put a close to the Lions’ final Class 4A season.
“[Wakeland] was working very hard,” Pocock said, “but we were gradually chipping away and getting closer and closer to putting the ball in the back of the net. But one opportunity after another missed.”
While the playoffs were a new experience for most of McKinney's players – 20 of whom had never seen postseason action before – Wakeland had a taste in the run-up to last week's game. While the Lions were quick to earn a berth, the Wolverines had to rally from a slow start to district and lock up their spot by winning their final four games, leaving them well versed in the do-or-die rhythm of the playoffs upon arrival. The fact that it took such a clutch run to land Wakeland a spot also suggests it faced superior competition along the way.
“Going into this game, I knew anything was possible,” Pocock said. “[Wakeland] was definitely in playoff mode for the last four games, needing to stay alive, and that does a whale of a lot for your confidence.”
Wakeland still wouldn't last much longer than McKinney. The celebration in beating the Lions lasted a weekend before the Wolverines were, in turn, knocked out of the playoffs by Carrollton R.L. Turner in a 1-0 decision on Tuesday.
If that offered any satisfaction, it won't last for long. McKinney now has the task of readying itself for a jump in classification that will land it in District 10-5A alongside the state's largest schools – Allen, Plano, Plano East and Plano West – and McKinney Boyd.
But with the growth McKinney's young core showed this season, it's a jump they're better prepared for this time around. When the Lions were moved into a district with the Plano schools for the first time, McKinney North had just opened, sapping the program of half its roster.
“Now we're going to have guys with a lot of experience coming back next year,” Pocock said, “and I like my chances a lot better than when we lost players and were moved up to toughest 5A district in the state of Texas.”
McKinney will still be losing a number of top contributing seniors, including Schober, defenders Tony Ramos and Andrew Mills, forwards J.T. Hawkins and Derrick Horvath, and midfielders Ricardo Rodriguez and Ismael Ramirez.
Hawkins led the team in both goals and assists this season.
Retooling will no doubt be in play again next year, but with the scale and success the Lions had at it this season, that shouldn't be overly concerning. After all, if the team enters the season hoping for a playoff spot, that's a formula that's worked out well before.
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