GA Frontier U17: Steil leads HTX against Atlético Dallas

The Girls Academy League kicked off its 2026-2027 season at the end of August, and for the next several months, the best teams in the county will play their Conference rivals for spots in the playoffs, which will be held next June in California.   Prep Soccer Texas continues to follow the league for another season, paying close attention to the developments of the Frontier Conference and providing the best coverage in the region, with match recaps, performance recaps, photo galleries, and social media posts that highlight the hard work and impressive talent of local players.   On Saturday, September 26, we were at Bear Branch Sports Fields, in The Woodlands, where HTX hosted Atlético Dallas for a matchup in the U17 age group. The home team delivered a strong first-half performance to walk away with a solid 5-0 victory.   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>HTX U17 vs. Atlético Dallas U17 - <a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2026/09/ga-frontier-u17-htx-vs-atletico-dallas-photos/">Photos</a></li> </ul>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/Dd4DT5elHfh/?img_index=1 </div></figure>   HTX dominated the central portion of the first half and went to the halftime break with a comfortable 4-0 win after forward [player_tooltip player_id='210625' first='Rhea' last='Steil'] scored a hat-trick and midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='210644' first='Kiana' last='Puna'] added another one off a corner kick. In the second half, a beautiful goal scored by midfielder Sophie Batters completed the scoreline in their 5-0 win.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Players of the Match</h2>    Steil played a major role in HTX's victory by scoring three of the team's five goals in the match and was frequently involved in the team's attacking plays. She played as a second forward and made the most of the freedom the role allowed her, roaming everywhere in the attacking half to get on the ball. Steil was very efficient with each of her offensive plays, showing impressive decision-making to pick the best options among the plays she had available and remarkable technical skills to execute them perfectly. The forward was very good at getting into good spots in the final third and even better at finishing them, scoring her goals with well-placed shots.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/09/2J4A0216.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-412512" /></figure>    A new addition to HTX this season, Batters immediately became a key piece for them in midfield. Playing in more of an attacking role, she thrived at getting the ball to their forwards with quick decision-making and a great deal of creativity and quality in possession. Batters was heavily involved in the team's attacking plays, showing great vision to execute passes and quickly moving the ball to her teammates. She also did a good job of consistently stepping into the penalty box and scored a beautiful goal after getting a cross from the right, bringing the ball inside and firing a nice shot into the upper corner.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/09/2J4A0186_b4bb8f.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-412498" /></figure>    Puna had a strong performance at the defensive midfielder spot and was very active both offensively and defensively for HTX. She single-handedly shielded the team's backline and had a lot of success in her attempts to stop Atlético's plays, covering a lot of ground and being very precise with her tackles. Puna also had a key role in possession, linking the backline with the offense, and stood out for her intelligent and accurate distribution. She constantly stepped into the final third to support the offense and scored the team's third goal after making a good run for the ball in a corner kick and hitting a beautiful first-time shot.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/09/2J4A0174_f4ad49.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-412492" /></figure>    Blakley was HTX's center forward in the match and offered strong contributions to the team's offense. Despite not scoring in the team's comfortable victory, she helped generate several goal-scoring opportunities with her intense and smart movement up top. Blakley didn't hold her position, often drifting wide and showing great energy to make runs and chase passes on the wings. She also demonstrated an interesting ability to combine with her teammates in the central area of the field, playing first-time passes and moving into the open space to be an option.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/09/2J4A0212_a51eae.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-412511" /></figure>    Burdick led HTX's defensive system to a clean sheet and helped her team keep Atlético quiet for most of the match. She played in the center of their back three and did a good job of defending the penalty box, standing out for her positioning and her ability to read and react to crosses. Burdick also did well when she had to step outside her zone, quickly appearing in wider areas to cover her teammates and winning the ball with firm tackles. The center back had an interesting role in goal kicks, stepping up to find spots to get on the ball behind Atlético's first line of press and help her team move it upfield.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/09/2J4A0218.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-412513" /></figure>    In a match in which Atlético didn't get much going offensively, Schumacher was their most active and dangerous player. She played mostly on the right side of their attack and, after having a somewhat quiet first half, came back more energized and made things happen when she was on the field in the second part of the match. Schumacher made some good runs in the final third, both on the ball on the right flank and off the ball by attacking the space behind HTX's backline, and found herself in good spots on some occasions, scoring a goal that was called back for offside. She also showed good energy and intelligence to press, managing to win the ball in nice spots on a couple of occasions.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/09/2J4A0139.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-412479" /></figure>    Ramirez showed some quality and calm on the ball in midfield and helped Atlético keep possession in difficult moments. She was always very intelligent with her distribution and managed to successfully execute difficult passes even when under pressure. Playing as a center midfielder, she was very active defensively, showing good determination to play defense and winning duels in the center of the field. Ramirez played part of the second half as a right midfielder and did a good job of using her quality on the ball to get to the end line and send crosses into the box.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2026/09/2J4A0169.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-412489" /></figure>

The Girls Academy League kicked off its 2026-2027 season at the end of August, and for the next several months, the best teams in the county will play their Conference rivals for spots in the playoffs, which will be held next June in California.