GAMES
RANKINGS
LEAVING HIS LEGACY: Espinoza The Anchor To Northbrook Soccer
IN FOOTBALL, THE QUARTERBACK CALLS THE PLAYS. IN BASKETBALL, THE POINT GUARD SETS THE TONE. IN BASEBALL, THE CATCHER IS THE LEADER.
In soccer, the goalie is the alpha. Luckily for Northbrook soccer, they have Bryan Espinoza protecting the net. Playing in goal is an incredibly stressful position to be in. However, Espinoza has shown his penchant to rise to the challenge for the Raiders, making some clutch saves to keep his team in contention.
“Confidence plays a huge role in being a goalkeeper,” Espinoza said. “Without confidence, you won’ t be as sharp under the three posts. Most people don’ t know what it ’s like and will criticize you, but that ’s where your mindset has to be strong. Dedication, handling, footwork and having technical awareness are crucial for me to succeed.”
The Raiders had a solid district season last year, advancing to the postseason, where they were eliminated in the first round by Lamar. For the senior, he hopes this year will be even more successful.
“This year is definitely different for us Raiders,” said Espinoza. “Culture and discipline between the team have played a huge role in our strong start. Therapy and great recovery sessions after games, and communication within the team and with our coach on and off the field have been really great. The main thing that is working is the different skill sets on the training ground. Our coach has motivated us to work harder this year, and we’re staying focused on what ’s next every game.
“I expect every single one of us to give our all in every game. I intend for us to make a statement for ourselves, and our school, as we represent it. Some games will be tough but I expect us to work harder and play like it ’s always our last game. Making the playoffs last year was a huge memory of mine. That has pushed us to make that dream of going further a reality.”
Considering this is his senior season, Espinoza is looking to leave a legacy. “As a senior, it is very upsetting knowing that it ’s my last year,” he said. “But , I hope to accomplish leaving high school with a soccer scholarship and knowing my team and I accomplished something greater. As a team, I know we want to win district, and I hope to motivate and encourage the underclassmen by being a role model before I leave them.”
WINTER WRAP: Spartans, Mustangs Earn District Titles
BASKETBALL
THE 2021-2022 HOOPS CAMPAIGN WAS A STRONG ONE FOR SPRING BRANCH ISD.
Stratford’s boys shared the District 17-6A title with Cypress Creek, going 12-2 in district play. Stratford finished 27-6 overall, falling to Mayde Creek in the Area playoffs.
Spring Woods was 15-15 overall, Memorial went 10-25 and Northbrook finished 3-25.
Stratford was buoyed by a breakout season from junior guard Keanu Dawes, who will be one of the top talents to keep an eye on in the Class of 2023. Senior forward Luke Hatcher also enjoyed a stellar season for the Spartans.
On the girls’ side, Memorial had an outstanding year, finishing with a program-best 27 wins. The Mustangs shared the 17-6A title with Cypress Creek, going 13-1 in district play.
The prolific-shooting Mustangs were led by premier talents like junior guard Riley McCloskey, junior forward Abigail Tomaski, sophomore forward Nicki Polocheck, and senior center Giana Vlahakos. Memorial reached the Area round.
Stratford joined Memorial in the playoffs. The Spartans went 14-17 overall, 8-6 in district play, to make the postseason for the first time in seven years.
Stratford finished as an Area playoff finalist after routing Bellaire in its BiDistrict playoff game.
Spring Woods went 7-21 overall and Northbrook finished 9-22.
SWIMMING
SPRING BRANCH ISD SENT A STRONG CONTINGENT OF COMPETITORS TO THE UIL CLASS 6A STATE SWIMMING MEET THIS SPRING.
The district’s stars in Austin were the Memorial boys 200-yard medley relay team and Memorial sophomore Kassidy Kitchel.
The Mustangs’ 200 medley relay finished ninth overall with a time of 1:35.32. The team consisted of senior Luca Burns, sophomore Reid Vandervoort, senior Amaury Jayr and junior Oliver Grossman.
Kitchel finished seventh in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:04.21. She also finished 14th in the 100-yard butterfly with a mark of 56.28 seconds.
Burns also finished 15th in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 50.91 seconds. Memorial’s 400- yard freestyle relay team of Jayr, Grossman, Burns and junior Romain Joubert finished 11th with a time of 3:08.20.
SOCCER
STARTFORD REPRESENTED SPRING BRANCH ISD WELL ON THE PITCH, WINNING THE DISTRICT 17-6A GIRLS TITLE IN DOMINANT FASHION.
Stratford went 13-1 in district play. The Spartans won six consecutive games entering the postseason. Once there, Stratford defeated Westside (12-0), Katy (5-0), Tompkins (3-2) and West Brook (1-1 (4-3 PKs) to advance to the Region III-6A Championship match. Stratford fell to Ridge Point and finished the season 20-4-4.
In 28 matches, the Spartans allowed 18 goals while scoring 77.
Memorial also booked a trip to the playoffs as the No. 3 seed out of 17-6A. The Mustangs went 11-3 in district. Memorial fell to Seven Lakes in the Area Round.
Spring Woods finished its season 8-14 overall, going 4-10 in district play and finished fifth in district. Northbrook went 8-11-3 overall.
On the boys side, Northbrook was the lone Spring Branch ISD representative in the playoffs. The Raiders finished fourth in district, going 6-5-3. They finished 8-10-4 overall.
Memorial, Spring Woods and Stratford all fell short of the playoffs. Memorial went 6-7-8 overall, Spring Woods went 7-10-5 overall and Stratford finished 6-11-4.