By JIM OTTS
Register Correspondent
WICHITA FALLS — The Gainesville Lady Leopards scored a pair of goals in each half and cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Wichita Falls Hirschi Lady Huskies Friday, giving the soccer girls the distinction of being the first GHS sports team to qualify for the playoffs this year.
Yolanda Del Rio and Marisol Chavez had goals to provide the Reds a 2-0 cushion at intermission and Jordan Garcia and Shelly Reynolds added insurance goals in the second half.
Del Rio's goal was the first of her brief soccer career at Gainesville.
Reynolds, an outside midfielder, can normally be counted upon to get the ball into the offensive third of the pitch and then dish it off to a teammate. She dribbled the ball into the neighborhood of the goal herself Friday and got knocked to the ground after her shot was away.
She was the only one in the place who did not know the ball had found the net.
Chavez picked up a yellow card, the only one issued to a Lady Leopard this season, and had to be used sparingly afterward.
“The referee was watching every little thing she did after the yellow card and we could not risk her getting a red,” Coach Leslie Otts said.
The girls finish in fourth place for District 9-4A behind Wichita Falls Rider, Wichita Falls High and Burkburnett. The Cats defeated Decatur twice, 12-0 in Decatur and 8-0 in Gainesville.
They also downed Hirschi 4-0 when the two schools met in Gainesville in the first round on conference action.
Rider slipped past Old High 1-0 the first time the two met in conference play and the two front-runners tied 0-0 on Friday.
There is no District 10-4A for soccer so all four of the 9-4A teams get a bye in the bi-district round.
Azle and Saginaw were to have met Friday to determine which would earn the right to face Birdville in the bi-district game between 7-4A and 8-4A respresentatives.
The Lady Leopards will face the winner of the game between Birdville and Azle or Saginaw.
That game should be held at the newly remodeled Denton High School stadium unless one of the Denton schools makes it out of the first round and needs that stadium for another game.
Girls' soccer is in just its second season at GHS and the Spotted Reds have been earned playoff berths both years.
Last year, the Lady Leopards were eliminated in the second round by Denton Guyer.
