The West Plains Lady Wolves not only got a measure of revenge from a loss to Stephenville last year, but made program history by defeating the Honeybees by a thrilling 1-0 final to win the UIL Class 4A Division I regional semifinal championship Friday night at Grant Teaff Tiger Stadium in Snyder.
In only four short years since the school opened, West Plains has now advanced to their first ever Region I-4A championship where the Lady Wolves (20-5-1) will take on Life Waxahachie (27-0-1) at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.
“I’m so proud of this team,” said West Plains head coach Amberlee Gerald, who started the Lady Wolves soccer program four years ago. “I told them at the first of the year we had a great chance to do something special. We have a lot of seniors that have helped start this program since their freshman year. This has been an exciting run, and we’re getting an exciting opportunity and we’re trying to make the most of it.”
Stephenville had ended West Plains season a year ago in this same round on penalty kicks. This time around, it was another close contest with the game at a standstill, 0-0, deep into the second half. With under 10 minutes to play, the Lady Wolves finally broke through when Charleigh Jackson scored the game’s lone goal from an assist from teammate Lindsey Talamante in the 73rd minute.
That goal was more than enough mainly in part to standout goalie Bailey Dobrowolski. The senior net-minder has been stellar through the playoffs and was unbelievable once more against the Honeybees as she stopped three shots to earn her 33rd career shutout. That 33rd shutout breaks the previous record held by Bella Hawley in 2024.
“We went into this game with a chip on our shoulder,” Gerald said. “We knew we had to buckle down on defense and we knew Bailey (Dobrowolski) was going to be key in the net. It was very windy and we were going against the wind in the second. We knew though, that we were a team that plays better against the wind, and when Charleigh made that goal into the wind we still don’t know how it went in. We came together the entire match and were just able to get it done.”
In two Class 5A Division I regional semifinals, both Tascosa and Amarillo High saw its seasons come to an end. The Lady Rebels fell to Burleson Centennial 1-0, while the Lady Sandies were defeated by Colleyville Heritage 2-1. Tascosa ends its year at 18-5-2. AHS ends its season at 22-3-1.
