By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal

GEORGETOWN – For 45 minutes, it looked as thought Lake Travis might hang around long enough pull off an upset.

Then the Cavaliers’ fortunes shifted like the wind Saturday at Birkelbach Stadium in Georgetown, and Coppell showed why it was the No. 1 girls team in Texas.

In the final 30 minutes of the Class 6A Division I girls state championship, the Cowgirls (22-2-3) exploded with three unanswered goals to defeat Lake Travis 6-2 and claim their third state title and become one of eight schools to accomplish that feat.

“I can’t say enough about our girls,” said Lake Travis head coach Will Maloney. “The fight they have shown all year is nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve not been around a group that plays as hard as they do, because they love each other. Coppell is a very talented team, but I’m just so proud of our girls.”

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Both teams played fairly even in the first half. Coppell had six opportunities to score, while Lake Travis (22-2-1) had five.

The Cowgirls jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on an unassisted goal by Neerali Kapadia in the 15th minutes and another one from Monica Morales, who put a pass from Summer Chen by Cavalier goalkeeper Collette Whitsitt 10 minutes later.

Lake Travis quickly responded as Banin Patterson scored unassisted to cut Coppell’s lead to one before the halftime break.

Chen, the game’s most valuable player, extended the Cowgirls’ lead back to two goals with an unassisted goal in the 45th minute of the contest that was part of a four-goal barrage in the second half.

The Cavaliers didn’t go away quietly. Kayla Gibbons took a pass from Mya Griffin and booted a shot from 25 yards and placed it over the head of Coppell goalkeeper Veronika Orzolek to cut the lead back to one.

Then the Cowgirls flexed their muscles and scored three-straight goals and put the game out of Lake Travis’ reach with Moralez, Chen and Kapadia each picking up their second goals of the match.

“We fought hard for 80 minutes, but Coppell showed why they deserved to be state champs,” Maloney said. “It’s hard to look at our seniors and know this might be it for them, but they made history. This was the first time we reached the state finals since 2003. This is only the beginning.”

Coppell was the only team to beat the Cavaliers this season. The Cowgirls also defeated Lake Travis 4-0 in the season opener at the Southlake Carroll Tournament.