On March 14, school was canceled for two weeks because of coronavirus. Then about a week later, it was canceled for another week. And a little later, it was canceled until May 4. Now, schools are closed for the rest of the school year. But when school ended, so did all spring sports–including soccer, baseball, softball, track, and water polo.

The girls soccer team only had two games left to play against Arlington Lamar and North Crowley. These were games that would affect how the varsity team would be seeded going into the playoffs.

Last year, the 2019 season, was the first time since 2015 that the Lady Panthers made it to the playoffs, but they were eliminated in the first round with a loss against San Angelo Central. This year, the girls soccer program welcomed a new coaching staff who were optimistic for the season to come.

The Lady Panthers proved themselves early on by placing first in their bracket at the Richardson Ice Bowl in January, giving the team high hopes for the outcome of the season to come. This year, the varsity team consisted of 6 sophomores, 6 juniors, and 12 seniors and no one is feeling the hurt of the year ending early more than the seniors.

“I’m very upset that the season was cut short. The team has worked so hard since August to be where we are today and it is unfair we won’t have the opportunity to finish what we started,” says Emory Watts, senior and captain of the soccer team.

Coach Philip Gomez is the head coach of the varsity girls soccer team. He, along with the assistant coaches Brittany Rose and Sarah Goodman, was new this year and had big plans for the season. “I think everyone is pretty upset that we won’t get to finish out our season and see how far we could have progressed through the playoff bracket. I also know that we all understand that there is much more at stake than us finishing our season, so I am very happy to see everyone having their health when we video chat,” says Gomez.

Gomez continues, “I do not believe that this will have any seriously negative effects on our next season going forward. We as a team will have enough time together in the fall to regroup and get back on track. The biggest loss will be the playoff experience that the team missed out on in 2020.” 

“This is a tough season for us because of the timing. The boys had just secured a playoff spot and had the best chances of finishing 2nd place with 2 games to go. I believe this team would have done well in the playoffs,” says Coach Mark Townsend, the head boys soccer coach at Paschal. “The last time we went to the playoffs was 3 years ago. That team had 5 freshmen on the field in the 2nd playoff game. So these guys that were on that team were very excited to make it back.”

This season the boys soccer team competed against two state ranked teams. Sam Houston High School was ranked number one in the state for boys soccer at the beginning of the season and Bowie High School was ranked number eight in the state. 

“This is a resilient group that we have. They will be fine. They did compete well in a very tough soccer district. I think that they will leave a legacy for the younger guys that take their place next year,” says Townsend. “As for me, I was very excited about this year. I have been saying that we were building this team for 2 years. I will be back next year. The seniors of 2020 will not, and for that I am sad. They created some great memories though and I will never forget them.”

High school sports weren’t the only sports affected by school cancellation, though. Colleges are having to work around the complications created by COVID-19 in order to prepare for the coming season. Michelle Housden, the head coach of the women’s soccer program at Austin College and former Paschal varsity girls soccer coach, described her predicament. 

“As a college coach and recruiter, the greatest impact that COVID-19 has is crippling the opportunity to meet a potential student athlete in person. I rely on the in-person meetings to really get a feeling of the student athletes’ personality, character, and gauge their interest in my college. It has also impacted a potential student athlete’s opportunity to visit a campus, meet prospective teammates, and gain perspective on what is unique about the college.”

However, while recruiting coming to a pause is a problem, there’s no use in recruiting if there isn’t a 2020-2021 season. According to Housden, schools like the University of Cincinnati and St. Edwards have already cut some programs, including men’s soccer. 

“Without a vaccine, I believe we run into an ethical issue of placing athletes in close and prolonged contact with each other, and risk infection,” says Housden. And she’s not the only one. Coach Gomez has said, “I definitely feel that coaches will need to be more cognizant of locker room cleanliness, athlete hand washing routines, and athlete proximity during practice and travel due to the increased importance of minimizing unnecessary contact.”