By Bill Peterson
KYLE – The Hays High School girls soccer team took one last bow for a spectacular season Monday as it appeared before the school district's board of trustees.
Under coach Dorothy Ortiz, the Rebels turned in their best season, going all the way to the Class 4A Region IV championship game before losing, 2-1, to Dripping Springs.
The Rebels finished their season 23-3-2, outscoring their opponents 109-8. Hays finished 14-0 in District 26-4A to win the league title. The Rebels then opened the playoffs with a 3-0 win against New Braunfels, a 3-1 win against Lake Travis and a 2-0 win against Flower Bluff before falling to Dripping Springs.
"To make it that far and be one of the top schools in Texas was pretty awesome for us this year," Ortiz told the school board.
Five seniors on the team will be gone next year, but they will continue playing soccer.
District Most Valuable Player Ashley Briggerman played forward this year for Hays, but she will play forward next year at the University of Houston. District Offensive MVP Bailey Holmes received a soccer scholarship at Hardin-Simmons.
Amanda Olivio, a first-team all-district performer, will play at Our Lady of the Lake University on a soccer scholarship. Brittany Wallace, who made the academic all-state first team and first team all-district on the soccer field, will play at the University of Texas-Dallas.
Arielle Thomas, a second-team all-district player, is going to Texas State on an ROTC scholarship. However, she plans to walk on with the school's soccer team.
