UPDATED: Dallas-Fort Worth private school soccer teams playing in SPC championships this weekend

by Erin Rice

Starting with the opening round on Friday in Houston, eight private high school soccer teams from DFW will play for the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) title. Among the schools attending is last year's girls winner, and three schools sending boys and girls teams, one with prior championships under their belts, and the others yet to claim a recent SPC division one title.

The SPC is made up of 18 private and parochial schools throughout Southern Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Oklahoma. Eight teams make it to the first division playoffs based on their records in the regular season. The quarter- and semi-finals take place on Friday, with finals in the late morning and afternoon on Saturday. All girls games are played at Kinkaid School and boys at Episcopal High School, both in Houston.

The local schools competing are Hockaday (Dallas), Greenhill School (Dallas), Fort Worth Country Day, All Saint's Episcopal (Fort Worth), and the Episcopal School of Dallas.

Shall I repeat this for you?

The Hockaday School for girls has lost only one game this year, to Arlington Martin High, with two ties to fellow SPC teams Greenhill and Kinkaid. Though Coach Rod Skaife considers those last two schools to his team's biggest competition, "We fully expect to repeat." Hockaday soccer has never won back-to-back division one SPC championships. Their first match is against St. John's School from Houston.

Been there, would like to do it again

Greenhill School in Dallas sends both their varsity teams to Houston this year. The girls have one loss and one tie this season, both to Hockaday. Their first game is against the Episcopal School of Dallas, whom they've beat three times this year, 3-0, 3-0, and 1-0. They've yet to face Kinkaid this season, one of the tournament favorites. Though not the favorites themselves, several girls on this team understand what it takes to win at this level. "[They] have experienced the highs and lows of tournament play. They remember what it feels like to win a championship. They also experienced the disappointment of losing in penalty kicks in last years' semi-final game... For our seniors, ending their high school career with another championship would be especially meaningful."

On the boys side, Coach Richard Hall's team won the SPC D.1 title in 2006. In order to come away with a title this year, Hall is counting on his leading scorer Steve Rogers to conduct business as usual. Their first game is against the John Cooper School who is 14-5-3 this season.

Not to be counted out

While Fort Worth Country Day School's boys and girls soccer teams are no stranger to SPC tournament play, the Falcons squads will have a difficult road ahead of them this tournament.

For the girls, Coach Tarik Guendouzi has had his eye on the SPC title since taking over the team a few years ago. While they've struggled so far this season against Hockaday and Greenhill, they've not lost to any of the other SPC schools on their schedule (yet to face Kinkaid this season). In order to make the finals, Coach Guendouzi is looking for a stellar performance from the entire squad. "I think that you always look at your captains and seniors to lead by example. Both Tiffini Smith and Alison Reylea have done this. I am looking for our juniors and some freshmen to get us over the hump." FWCD opens against Episcopal High School of Houston and is likely to face Hockaday in the semi-final.

Having won the division two SPC tournament last year, the FWCD boys side earned a berth into first division play this year with a less than traditional squad. At the helm is Coach Mike Vincent, a 2008 NSCAA Regional Coach of the Year for boys' private and parochial high schools. "Our team this year is a great 'mix' of youth and experience with five influential starting seniors and five starting freshmen." Despite the obvious jump in ages among the starters, the team incorporates a style of soccer that many pro teams would love to have. "We play an indirect, possession-oriented style of soccer with controlled, accurate build-up play to feet," explains Coach Vincent. "Possession with a purpose, if you like."

Like their sister team, should the Falcon boys win their opening match against Saint Mary's Hall from San Antonio, they'll face last year's champion from Oklahoma, Holland Hall, in the semifinal.

UPDATE: For the girls, Fort Worth Country Day defeated Hockaday while Greenhill took down Kinkaid to face off in the finals. Greenhill won the title with a 1-0 win over FWCD. On the boys' side, John Cooper beat ESD and Holland Hall bested FWCD to meet in Saturday's final. Holland Hall scored twice to claim the title.

Full Disclosure: Erin has previously been associated with Fort Worth Country Day School. They often still exchange notes when the teacher's not looking.