The Bryan girls soccer players met a part of their past Tuesday, then made history by earning the program's first playoff victory. If the Lady Vikings win another match, they might meet A&M Consolidated.
Consol and Bryan will be part of a second-round state playoff doubleheader at Corsicana's Tiger Stadium on Friday night. The Lady Tigers (17-6-2) will play Garland Sachse at 5:30 p.m. The second match will send the Lady Vikings (17-8-2) against Richardson Berkner (14-5-2) at 7:30 p.m.
The winners will meet next week in the Class 5A Region II quarterfinals.
"We will worry about that if and when the opportunity presents itself," first-year Bryan coach Amy Pettibone said of a possible playoff Crosstown Showdown. "You can't look ahead."
Both teams should enjoy looking back to Tuesday's bi-district matches. Bryan's girls, the fourth seed from District 12-5A, reached the area round for the first time with a 3-1 road victory over 11-5A champion Tyler Lee. The Lady Vikings received a prematch pep talk from 1985 Bryan graduate Denise Rowe, the first girl to play soccer for the Vikings, as a member of the boys team.
"She told the girls that she always dreamed of there being a girls soccer team and that they were her dream come true," Pettibone said. "That was just awesome. At that moment, I knew we were going to win the game. You can't have all that stuff fall into line and not win it."
Among the four matches in its part of the Region II bracket, Consol was the only higher seed to avoid being upset in bi-district. The Lady Tigers, who were second behind Belton in 12-5A, won 4-0 over North Mesquite, which finished third in 12-5A.
Consol's second-round opponent Sachse upset 9-5A champion Farmers Branch Creekview 1-0. Sachse is the fourth seed from 10-5A.
"It's definitely a testament that anybody can win," Consol coach Stoney Pryor said. "I've talked to our girls about not looking at records and seedings and stuff on the Internet. When you see a record, it either makes you arrogant or it makes you overly worried. Either way, it encourages you to play down, if you're scared or if you're cocky."
The Lady Tigers are in the area round for the second consecutive season. Consol's girls last reached the regional quarterfinals in 2004.
This year, Consol was in contention for the district championship until the last match of the regular season. Belton edged the Lady Tigers 1-0 in overtime to take the title.
Consol bounced back to beat North Mesquite as Emily Smith scored twice and Morgan Anderson produced two assists and a goal.
"I was asking a couple of the girls why they thought we'd had success, and I think they were spot-on," Pryor said. "Mayra [Patlan] said they know each other and play well to each other. They know the strengths and weaknesses of every player."