Just getting started: Lady Bulldogs' near perfect season rolls into playoffs

The McKinney North girls soccer team lost a heated 2-0 affair to cross-town rival McKinney on Jan. 29. That sour taste stayed with the Lady Bulldogs, propelling them to great heights as it proved to be their only loss this season.

"It's been a fun year," said Lance Lovell, North head coach. "It's been a great season to be a part of and the girls are having fun. They enjoy playing and practicing with each other every day because they've created that bond and it's translated onto the field. It's been special."

The 13-4A district champion Lady Bulldogs finished their 2013 regular season with a 9-0 win against Anna Friday night. The victory capped a perfect 8-0 run through district for North, as it heads into the playoffs with an overall dominant mark of 16-1-3.

"It's not finished yet," Lovell said. "We're still in the process of growing; it's still in the process of being built. This is now my seventh year as coach and we had a rough beginning, but every year we've made some improvement, and these last three years we've made huge leaps and bounds. It has a lot to do with the players coming in. They want to do the best they can."

The one-loss Lady Bulldogs owe their success to not one, but several of their starters, led by senior captain Jackie Bucy, who tore her ACL in last year's second to last regular season game. Bucy had surgery and was questionable for this season as her return to the team was originally in doubt.

"Jackie took to the rehab and worked her tail off and committed herself to this soccer team," Lovell said. "She came back and she is the glue on this team. She is the reason we are so gelled this year and I'm so thankful to have her back."

Senior midfielder Mikey Mendiola has also made her mark this season.

"She is very much like Jackie," Lovell said. "Mikey leads by example. If it wasn't for her and Jackie, I really believe we would have had a very different season. They've stepped up and led this team this year."

Junior forwards Belicia Mendiola and Hadlie Tucker have been North's main scoring threats this year.

"Those two forwards are creating a lot of havoc for any team that we play," Lovell said. "They're creating a lot of distress for every opponent. Belicia has scored 25 goals and a lot of those have come from Hadlie's assists. Hadlie has scored 11 goals and has 15 assists. Those two work well together up front to create an attack that other schools just can't counter."

Junior goalkeeper Clarissa Ledesma has also been instrumental to North's success with her shutdown performance this season.

"She's taken on that role," Lovell said. "She's done everything she can do to get better and be that rock back there in the back. She's had a great year, only nine goals allowed all year long."

Senior center backs Mary Watson and Keirsyn McDaniel have also contributed to North's strong team dynamic.

Together, the Lady Bulldogs have been a force to be reckoned with.

"They have a ton of heart," Lovell said. "We may not have a starting 11 full of club players like some teams do, but one thing they do have is they play with heart. They give everything they have every minute they're out there on the field. They fight tooth and nail. This team is full of heart and passion."

North begins its playoff push on Monday or Tuesday against the fourth seed from District 18-4A, which has yet to be determined.

"That district's top four is undetermined except for their No. 1 spot," Lovell said. "The remaining spots won't be decided until Saturday since two of their teams, Liberty and Centennial, were unable to play Tuesday, so they rescheduled for Saturday."

As the Lady Bulldogs charge into the postseason, Lovell admits that while he expected success this season, he didn't anticipate the level of sheer dominance North has displayed all year long.

"I didn't expect just one loss," he said. "The reason why I scheduled our pre-district games to be as hard and tough as I did was because I knew our district could be a little soft. I never expected our girls to rip through pre-district and now district. I had no idea. The success is growing. That's the direction I love to see."

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