Head Coach Wayland Sanders says H.M. King High School’s varsity girls soccer team is hitting an early stride after they beat Robstown 5-0 in their District 31-4A opener last Friday. The Lady Brahmas are 4-1 overall and 1-0 in district.

Scoring for H.M. King were Vonique Rodriguez, Haley Ethridge, Kelly Ryan, Mary Yeary and Katrina Cantu.

Sanders - who is in his rookie year as a coach - said his team’s first division victory was a big confidence booster for the Lady Brahmas who are under their second skipper in as many years.

“I think it was very important, the girls almost seemed relieved about it,” Sanders said. “They are still worried about Cigarroa tomorrow night (February 9) but they are focusing and really want to go undefeated in district this year.”

Friday’s runaway win is a result of a more cohesive bunch of girls that are starting to come out of their shells.

“I think we are peaking right now and playing very well,” Sanders said. “It has been a one hundred percent turnaround from our first couple of games of the season. The girls are communicating more and I think they just needed to accumulate some playing time together; they know each other better now.”

Sanders’ newly implemented system this season relies on the Lady Brahmas being more combative with their opposition.

“We’re winning a lot more of the battles when the ball is in the air, going up and getting the headers, plus our defense is marking up a lot,” he said.

“We have become a lot more aggressive, are getting more shots on goal and not being so hesitant to shoot it from 18 yards out or so. But we still need to get better at finishing goals because sometimes we miss a lot of shots that should have scored.”

The Lady Brahmas still have seven more division contests following games against Laredo Cigarroa (this past Tuesday) and at LBJ this Friday at 7:30 p.m.

That being the case, Sanders and his squad are keeping their focus on the here and now.

“We’re just taking it one game at a time, making sure everyone knows their job and remaining aggressive,” Sanders said.