Houston Area HS Girls Team to Watch: Bridgeland

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The high school soccer season is back in Texas as since the middle of December, teams from the Lone Star State have been active in scrimmages and non-district matches as they prepare for the start of the matches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's a lot of fine-tuning to be done between now and the start of January, when district matches will begin, and we at Prep Soccer Texas are excited to follow another season of play and report on the top teams and individual standouts in our state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we prepare for the start of what should be another exciting four months of high school soccer in Texas, we'll feature some teams from the Houston area that could be poised for strong seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bridgeland</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bridgeland Bears from Cypress made it as far as the Regional Quarterfinals last season - they dominated District 16 with 12 wins and two ties and ended the season with a remarkable 21-1-2 season record. Bridegland will have some pieces to replace with the graduations of defender Kate Ornelas and Emily Hughes and midfielder Riley Hammond, but continue to have a strong roster, with senior Elise Bienvenu and junior [player_tooltip player_id='192134' first='Sydney' last='Robinett'] fighting for the starting spot in goal, junior Brooke Martin anchoring the backline, junior [player_tooltip player_id='112736' first='Catalina' last='Le'] pulling the strings as the number 10, senior Makenzie Simmons and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='165670' first='Carden' last='Allison'] appearing on the wings and senior Maddy Benker leading the attack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Players </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Maddy Benker","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'4u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"103","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Bridgeland","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Challenge SC","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761fc721a470"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In a way, it's fair to say that Bridgeland will go as far as Benker's goals take them. The striker has been the main source of goals for the team last season and will likely be pivotal for their success again. Benker is a true fox in the box, who uses her intelligent movement off the ball to consistently get into dangerous spots inside the penalty box. Because she's very calm on the ball and finishes extremely well with either foot and her head, most of these chances end with the ball at the back of the net. Benker can also contribute to the team's playmaking, playing a little bit deeper, and also works well alongside another forward up top.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17164384/6607d9cf2552b96669f9bafe' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761fc721a692"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["192134"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761fc721a6ea"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Robinett will enter her second season as Bridgeland's starting goalkeeper after earning the spot in her sophomore year. She continues to improve year after year and her progress makes the Bears a stronger team defensively. She's very clean when it comes to her ability to make saves, making excellent split-second decisions and always making the right actions to keep the ball off the goal. Robinett is also very strong mentally, a key feature for a goalkeeper, which allows her to remain consistent under pressure and to step up in big moments.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj9s0cN0q04","type":"video","providerNameSlug":"youtube","responsive":true,"className":"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj9s0cN0q04 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["165670"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6761fc721a735"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Allison was a starter in her freshman season and should have an even bigger role this year. Last year, she was used on the left wing and delivered strong performances there, using her ability to beat defenders to take the ball to the end line and send great crosses into the penalty box. She's very flexible tactically and can also play more centrally - as she works very well with her body to the goal and is an excellent finisher, a duo of him and Benker could be absolutely lethal. Hitting the ball with power and precision is another of Allison's strengths and that makes of her a great weapon in set pieces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">My team and I got to play some great competition these past 2 weekends. Going to miss them going into high school season. Here are some highlights! <a href="https://t.co/wAEdDhdKCM">pic.twitter.com/wAEdDhdKCM</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='165670' first='Carden' last='Allison'] (@CardenAllison1) <a href="https://twitter.com/CardenAllison1/status/1862629717641150741?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 29, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->