Houston Area HS Girls Team to Watch: Tompkins

<!-- 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">Tompkins</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tompkins Lady Falcons from Katy made it to the playoffs last season as the third-best team in District 19, but couldn't make it past the area round, ending the season with 17 wins, five losses and two ties. The Lady Falcons will have some continuity in 2025, with only a few seniors graduating, among them defender Ellie Castillo, midfielder Riley Lindhorst and winger Jenna Grace Wentland. The core of the team will be basically the same, with junior [player_tooltip player_id='159935' first='Kate' last='Oelkers'] in goal, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='159414' first='Tessa' last='Sprayberry'] and juniors [player_tooltip player_id='159503' first='Hayden' last='Lasida'] and [player_tooltip player_id='26506' first='Audrina' last='Johnson'] appearing in the backline, midfield having a great balance with senior Paula Fuentes and juniors [player_tooltip player_id='88962' first='Makena' last='Zukeran'] and [player_tooltip player_id='161645' first='Ariana' last='Weiss'] and the attack displaying tremendous firepower with junior [player_tooltip player_id='55783' first='Rhegan' last='Coombs'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='269325' first='Naomi' last='Medeiros'].</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_player":["55783"],"_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-675cb169eb8f5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A dynamic winger with tremendous pace and ball control, Coombs is arguably Tompkins' main offense weapon. She can play on either flank, but prefers the left, where she can bring the ball inside to pass or finish. Because of her excellent footwork, Coombs is very strong in 1v1 plays, but can also break into well-structured defense with her ability to make combination plays and move off the ball. She's lethal in open space, pushing the ball forward with great quickness and using her excellent decision-making to pass the ball at the right time. She also has a strong scoring presence with the team, stepping into the penalty box to finish chances and risking shots from distance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAFf7B7NeyY","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=YAFf7B7NeyY </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["159935"],"_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-675cb169eb960"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">One of the top goalkeepers in the district, Oelkers brings a lot of stability to the Lady Falcons between the posts. She's very technical and grounded and consistently picks the right options to make saves, avoiding errors and rarely fiving up rebounds. One of the team's captains, she has a strong voice among the backline, always shouting instructions and keeping the level of attention elevated. Oelkers also works well with her feet when needed, remaining calm and looking for simple and efficient passing options.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":159105,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/01/IMG_8349.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-159105" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tompkins vs. Summer Creek</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["159503"],"_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-675cb169eb9ab"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A versatile defender who can play anywhere across the backline, Lasida is typically used as a central defender with Tompkins. Her great physicality and impressive mobility make attacking the Lady Falcons through the center difficult as she's always around to make stops. Lasida is very determined and plays with great energy, giving everything every time she steps on the court. She's also very skilled and comfortable on the ball, being able to keep possession under pressure and to initiate plays with solid passes out of the back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nZquHVazS8","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=8nZquHVazS8 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->