The Katy Taylor girls soccer team scored two goals in the first half Friday night, which was enough to give them the win and move on to the regional quarterfinal round of the 5A girls’ soccer playoffs.

The Mustangs defeated Stratford 2-0 at the Berry Center by doing what they had practiced all week.

“We did things we practiced and that actually made me really happy,” Taylor coach Mark Kluppel said. “We wanted to put pressure on them early, score a little, and make them a little nervous.”

Halfway through the first half, Merruth Barriault put the ball in Stratford’s net for a 1-0 lead.

Seven minutes later, Amanda Jungwirth saw an opportunity to score when the ball deflected off Stratford’s goalie and sat in front of the net. The goal was wide open and Jungwirth kicked it in.

Stratford tried to fight back in the second half but Taylor’s defense was full of intensity.

“Lindsay Gordon is an amazing player,” Kluppel said. “She had a great game. Tori Grimes is just an amazing back and Alex Hawk has great speed. All three of them play well together.”

Kluppel was able to give all the members of his team some playing time and he believes it’s good for team morale as they move further into the playoffs.

“Stratford is a good team,” Kluppel said. “But I thought we played really well. We moved the ball well and generated a lot of shots. We just had a lot of fire and intensity,”

Taylor and Cypress Woods will play their regional quarterfinal at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Cypress Springs.

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