By Matthew Muench Denton Record-Chronical

March 24, 2010

Denton came into Tuesday’s Class 4A Region I area round playoff game hoping to pull off its second consecutive upset win this postseason.

But unfortunately for the Lady Broncos, visiting Wichita Falls crushes those hopes as the Lady Coyotes dropped Denton, 5-1, at Bronco Field.

“This was a matter of a team that just ran out of gas,” Denton head coach Iseed Khoury said. “We only play 12 players and I think our lack of depth finally caught up with us. It would have been nice to get another win but the better team won tonight.”

The Lady Coyotes (17-2-3) scored two quick goals during the first seven minutes and controlled the ball all night. Kaitlin Foran netted the first goal in the second minute, and five minutes later Sierra Anderson made it 2-0.

“Those goals were huge for us,” Wichita Falls head coach Rob Woodard said. “It set the momentum for us.”

Denton (9-10) had no answer in the first half on offense. It struggled to execute passes and it was evident the Lady Coyotes had a speed advantage.

The Lady Broncos had just one shot on goal during the first 40 minutes compared to Wichita Falls’ 15 shots.

“They were a lot fresher than we were,” Khoury said.

The Lady Broncos’ first and only smile of the night came when they cut the lead to 2-1 nine minutes into the second half when Kaila Petrie netted a goal over the head of Wichita Falls goalkeeper Tori Shannon.

“I thought we were going to win the game when that happened,” Khoury said. “I thought that goal would inspire us.”

But Wichita Falls answered quickly not only once, but three times. During the next eight minutes, the Lady Coyotes scored a trio of goals to end Denton’s threat.

“Those goals broke our backs,” Khoury said. “Those goals hurt.”

All three goals were unchallenged by the Lady Broncos. Foran picked up her second goal of the night during the surge and Payton Fookes added the other two goals.

“The answer goals were big for us,” Woodard said. “Denton grabbed the momentum and we were able to steal it right back.”

It didn’t help Denton that its best player, junior Mikala Farmer, played injured the whole game after suffering a rib injury in the opening minutes. She grimaced in pain the whole night.

“She has a pretty bad rib injury and she really shouldn’t have been playing,” Khoury said. “But she wasn’t going to sit this one out.”

The loss caps a roller-coaster season for the Lady Broncos, who clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time in four years. They will return all but two of their players next season.

“This has been a tough and exciting year for us,” Khoury said. “We will be back next year and I am extremely happy with the direction the program is headed.”