Girls soccer: Lady Panthers shoot for turnaround season

Maybe last season's baptism by fire would have been easier to take for Permian High School's girls soccer team had the level of competition been overwhelming.

But that wasn't the case for the Lady Panthers, whose 2008 roster was made up of 11 freshmen and sophomores combined - many of whom played major roles.

Instead, they fell just about five minutes short of making a fifth consecutive trip to the UIL postseason. The Panthers lost a district playoff game to Midland Lee in a shootout after allowing a game-tying regulation goal in the 76th minute.

"After that game, it was definitely like, ‘I can't wait until next year,' " said sophomore midfielder Paige Strahan, who was a first-team all-district selection as a freshman. "That's what all of us girls keep talking about, coming back and to do something bigger and better. We're so pumped this year."

Those youthful players now have some seasoning at the high school varsity level, which figures to set the Lady Panthers up for an improvement on their 10-13-1 campaign from a year ago.

There were some rough spots, like a pair of blowout losses to Midland High. But Permian performed well against the other teams that got into the playoffs - two one-goal losses to Abilene High; a shootout loss to San Angelo Central; and a regular-season sweep of Midland Lee before the district playoff loss.

"I think the biggest thing I think I learned is that you do have to play as a team," said sophomore Shalee Thomas, who shared the district's Newcomer of the Year award last year with Midland High's Jade Babcock. "You can't just play by yourself out on the field. We've come closer as a team and I think it's going to work out this year."

Four new freshmen will be added to the mix for a Permian team that has just three seniors - although defender Haley Fowler's talent and leadership skills are a huge asset.

Heading into her fourth year as a starter, Fowler is a returning first-team all-district selection.  Also among the returners is junior Brek Paz, who bounced back from knee surgery to earn second-team all-district honors last year.

It gets going for the Lady Panthers on Friday during the 2009 Allen Winter Classic. They get to face the host team - ranked second in the state by the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Organization - at 7 p.m. after starting the tournament at 11 a.m. Friday against Bryan.

"We're pretty thin in depth, but what we have is pretty talented," third-year Permian head coach Chad Peterson said. "We're awfully young again, but I think we're pretty close to having the right players, which is good. We've got a better team chemistry than we've had the last two years, so that's going to say a lot during a long 18-game (District 2-5A) schedule."