Well, about as close as you can get to one. When the Mustangs score during games at Houston Middle School — something they’ve done frequently through the early going — the light towers flash on and off to create a sort of a strobe effect.
It might not be the best thing for the homeowners whose properties abut the field. But the players love it.
“Oh my gosh,” said junior Ellett Smith. “My dad’s in charge. He loves the lights; that’s his favorite thing. It’s a fun part of the soccer game.”
So far, games have probably been the most fun part for Smith and her teammates. Heading into this weekend’s tournament in Knoxville — they open against Greenville Thursday — the Mustangs are 4-0. Impressively, they’ve yet to concede a goal while scoring 31 times themselves.
Several players have gotten into the act; in last week’s 8-0 victory over St. Agnes, senior Lucy Smith, Ellett’s cousin, put four in the back of the net. It’s a testament to the team’s exceptional depth and quality throughout the lineup.
The quality shines through in whoever veteran coach David Wolff puts on the field. The depth plays a large part in determining who actually gets on the field. Practices are notoriously tough at Houston and this season is no different.
“We’re multi-faceted; we can score from different places,” said Wolff, who surpassed 800 career victories coaching girls and boys in the spring.
“We’re deeper than we’ve been in a long time. You know, people were like ‘you had a good team last year’ but I think we’re deeper this year. When I was subbing (against St. Agnes), they got wore down. The people that I put in in the second half didn’t drop off.
“That was the difference-maker; that’s our deal. Just grinding people.”
That certainly was the case against a St. Agnes team which is already showing considerable improvement from 2022. Houston came at the Stars in waves with — as Wolff noted — very little drop-off. On a hot night, it was especially important, but even when things cool off, as the calendar heads toward the postseason, depth will be a big advantage.
And in practice, it’s creating competition for places that keeps everyone on their toes.
“(Practices) are very competitive,” said junior McKlain Jones, who also has a four-goal game to her credit this season. “We don’t run as much as people might think, but when we work, we work hard. And everybody is holding each other accountable. It’s great.”
Last season, Jones was part of a defense that allowed only five goals all season, three of them coming in the state championship game. The team has started similarly despite a new starter in goal, where Laila McNamee has slotted in seamlessly in place of now-graduated Sophie Dawe, last year’s Daily Memphian player of the year.
Hallie McBride and Sydney Veatch line up in front of her in defense, where the emergence of a freshman starter — Kate Wingfield — has allowed Jones to move into more of an attacking role. As if Houston needed any more options up front; players like the Smiths and Kate O’Conner are big-game veterans.
The lineup will only get deeper once proven goal-scorers Leah Freeman and Lylia Talley fully work their way back from injury. And two more freshmen, Scarlett Cowles and Kelly Behan, have arrived to bolster the midfield.
Three freshmen started in the St. Agnes match — a rarity at a program like Houston — and playing for the acerbic Wolff can sometimes be a challenge. Ellett Smith, who like Jones also started as a freshman on a team that finished runner-up in Tennessee’s largest classification, understands what it can be like.
“It’s not going to be an easy ride,” she said. “(Wolff) can be pretty bad sometimes but we love him off the field and he’s helped us a ton ... (but) it’s not like ‘as soon as I get on the team, I’ve got a spot.’ You’ve got to keep working your butt off and keep going until you get where you want to get.”
As always for Houston, that’s the state tournament.
In an alternate soccer universe, the Mustangs might be back-to-back state champions. Instead, they finished second in both 2021 and 2022, falling to Knoxville Bearden both times by 3-1 scores.
Bearden is still the team to beat; the Bulldogs were crowned national champions in 2022 and entered this season with 46 victories and one draw from their previous 47 matches. They were also the only team to defeat Houston last year and Jones, for one, hasn’t forgotten.
“We’ve been there two years in a row against the same people and I think this year we are going to get our revenge,” she said.
Wolff has more immediate goals.
“Just get better tomorrow,” he said.
Considering what’s on the field, they should. That defense, the freshmen, the expected ret... Click here to read full article
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