EL CAMPO òòò½ÊÓƵ” The El Campo girls soccer team is at the height of a remarkable turnaround. The Ladybirds are one victory away from playing for the Class 4A, Division II championship.
For head coach Brittany Oruonyehu and the El Campo three seniors, itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a far cry from where they began in the 2021-22 season. The Ladybirds were winless and managed only three shots on goal for the entire season.
òòò½ÊÓƵœThose are the girls that stayed with the program, and slowly things changed and we built something,òòò½ÊÓƵ Oruonyehu said. òòò½ÊÓƵœWe started to add more people. They bought into me, they bought into each other and they never gave up. We knew the taste of failure and, once you taste that, itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s really easy to start fighting to win.òòò½ÊÓƵ
In its regional final game against Lorena, El Campo had to fight to win. The Ladybirds were outshot 19-2. In the first half, El Campo played against the wind and, for the first time in months, was forced to primarily defend rather than go on the attack as theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™re accustomed to.
òòò½ÊÓƵœWe were forced to defend a lot, especially in the first half,òòò½ÊÓƵ Oruonyehu said. òòò½ÊÓƵœWe had a lot of things going against us. I think we struggled with some of the little aspects of the game especially early on, but we kept going. In the second half, we got our chance.òòò½ÊÓƵ
The Ladybirds made their limited opportunities count. A second half goal sent them to the regional final.
òòò½ÊÓƵœThese girls accept the challenge; they rise to level of their competition,òòò½ÊÓƵ Oruonyehu said. òòò½ÊÓƵœWhen went through the struggle, I told them that theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™re a great team and they deserve to be here. For them to overcome that challenge gives them so much confidence going into the next round.òòò½ÊÓƵ
The next hurdle awaiting the Ladybirds is a date with Wimberley Friday in Bastrop. Wimberley is an annual fixture deep in the postseason, including back-to-back semifinal appearances in 2021 and 2022.
If the Ladybirds are to take down Wimberley, Oruonyehu believes they must get back to doing what they do bestòòò½ÊÓƵ”attack. The match against Lorena seemed out of character for the Ladybirds. Having to defend deep is not something El Campo has done much of this season.
While the result was positive in the regional final, the Ladybirds are eyeing a different approach in the state semifinal.
òòò½ÊÓƵœWe were playing to survive instead of playing to win and our goal is to play to win,òòò½ÊÓƵ Oruonyehu said. òòò½ÊÓƵœThatòòò½ÊÓƵ™s our mindset now going into Wimberley. We need to get possession of the ball. Our first touch has to be good, and weòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve got to move and attack.òòò½ÊÓƵ
Oruonyehu and her three seniorsòòò½ÊÓƵ”Elizabeth Erwin, Madison Gaona and Camryn Phillipsòòò½ÊÓƵ”have placed themselves on the cusp of a truly miraculous turnaround from where they started. The Ladybirds are far removed from the team that did not win a match in 2022.
On the verge of a state championship game appearance, the Ladybirdsòòò½ÊÓƵ™ message is simple.
òòò½ÊÓƵœI just want them to leave it all out on the field and give everything they have,òòò½ÊÓƵ Oruonyehu said. òòò½ÊÓƵœTheyòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve worked so hard from the beginning of this season until now and they deserve to be here because of how hard theyòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve worked day in and day out.òòò½ÊÓƵ
