Bruegger nets two in first half, Grand Oaks ices College Park

Bruegger carried the ball up the right sideline and blasted another shot on goal for the 2-0 lead.

The senior leads the team with 12 goals.

“Those were two great goals by Maddie Bruegger,” Simpson said. “She’s playing a new position and has just come up big time. She’s really in her element and just loving it.”

College Park’s Crystal Percival, who scored twice Monday against Conroe, had two shots on net in the first half.

With a problematic wind whipping from north to south on the otherwise clear night with temperatures in the 40s, Grand Oaks got ahead quickly and remained there.SPRING — It was cold Thursday night. 

Despite that, the Grand Oaks Grizzlies girls soccer team remained on fire.

The 2-0 shutout win over visiting College Park extended Grand Oaks’ winning streak to five and the unbeaten streak to nine as the Grizzlies haven’t lost in over a month.

“You can never predict the way things will go in this crazy kind of weather,” Grand Oaks coach Amy Simpson said. “I’m proud of them. It’s been a crazy week not playing normal days. Monday and Thursday are just not normal. I’m proud of them and it’s a good start to the second half of district.”

Grand Oaks (9-3-3, 7-0-2) entered the night in second place, two points behind The Woodlands.

College Park (4-7-5, 4-3-2) started the night in fourth place with a three-point lead over Oak Ridge. The Cavaliers had won two straight games coming into the night.

Both Grand Oaks and College Park are playing for a repeat trip to the postseason as the second round of District 13-6A is underway.

“Grand Oaks has a fantastic keeper and they are a great and hard working team,” College Park coach Meredith Cook said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game tonight. We’re just young and we’re really working on perfecting our own identity. We just struggled a little bit to find the back of the next and create more quality opportunities.”

Senior Maddie Bruegger put on a show in the first half with two goals for the Grizzlies.

It took just seven minutes for Grand Oaks to jump on top as Bruegger accepted a rolling pass from teammate Ava Mortensen.

Challenged by a College Park defender, Bruegger lofted a shot over the goalkeeper and in.

It remained 1-0 until the 20th minute.

“To get those two goals into the wind was huge,” Simpson said. “It was unexpected. We kind of were hoping that if we could just hold them that half and get the wind (at our backs) the second half would work into our favor.”

College Park goalkeeper Molly Maksimowicz added three saves in the second half.

For Grand Oaks, goalkeeper Sophia Dean earned her seventh shutout of the season. The Grizzlies have allowed just three goals during the unbeaten streak.

“We watched game film from when we played them the last time,” Simpson said. “We stood around a lot. We were stagnant. Something we’ve been really working for is constant movement off the ball. Looking for those lanes.”

Grand Oaks outscored Cleveland 8-0 Monday night and took recent wins over Conroe (5-0) and New Caney (6-1).

“I think we really turned the corner against Conroe,” Simpson said. “That was one of the best games we played all year. We’ve really just been trying to build upon that game.”

Grand Oaks travels to Caney Creek on Tuesday.

College Park, meanwhile, hosts last-place Cleveland.

“It’s a whole new team,” Cook said. “I graduated 17 seniors. Even your older players are young because we don’t have a ton of varsity experience. We’ve just had a ton of kids step up and fill in. It’s exciting to watch. Hopefully, they’re just going to continue to grow.”

The match coincided with the Grizzlies’ annual ‘Kick for a Cure’ game. Donations and awareness were made this season in support for the fight against pancreatic cancer. 

“Pancreatic cancer is near and dear to my heart,” Simpson said. “I lost my father to pancreatic cancer in 2020.”

The team sold purple ‘Kick for the Cure’ T-shirts for $10 and those were sponsored to off-set the cost. Money was also collected from fans around the stadium.