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Longtime duo going for gold together

By Zach Warner

The Southlake Journal

The longer athletes compete together, the more comfortable they usually become when working together on the field to make plays.

That idea rang true last season for Carroll girls soccer teammates Sophie Groff and Julia Dyche. Although only freshmen in their first year of varsity competition, the two made it look easy at times, with Dyche setting Groff up with assists and Groff putting shots in the net. The teamwork they displayed was a bi-product of seven years of playing on youth and club teams together.

Their most memorable moment for Carroll last season came when the two connected on a play to give the Lady Dragons the lone score in a 1-0 playoff victory over Fossil Ridge. But as teammates on the Dallas Texans 95 Red club team, the two friends hope there will be more memories to share while at the US Youth Soccer National Championships this week in Overland Park, Kan.

"I would love to win the nationals with Julia, just her being by my side through all of this," said Groff, a forward for the Lady Dragons and the Dallas Texans. "We've all worked so hard and we're just trying to finish what we've started.

"We can't wait to get there and to face the competition we're going against. It will push us to be the best we can be."

Groff and Dyche have proven to be an explosive tandem on the field and would like to add a national club championship to their resume after this week. The Dallas Texans team began competition at the tournament on Tuesday and will compete throughout the week for the chance to play in the title game Sunday.

Dyche said that although she and Groff gained confidence and valuable experience competing at the varsity level last season, their trip to the national club tournament should give them that much more confidence going into the 2011 varsity season.

"It would be just amazing to win it," said Dyche, a midfielder. "For us, playing at this really high level, I think this experience will help us bring it back to the high school team so that we can make next year a really memorable season for the seniors."

Carroll coach Matt Colvin expects his two incoming sophomores to serve as important cogs in the Lady Dragons' plans next spring. Two of several talented players that return to the team, Colvin knows the potential they provide for Carroll and the valuable roles they play.

"Sophie's a very powerful player, good paced, good around the goal and good in the air," he said. "[She] came up with some big goals for us last year.

"Jules is kind of a general in the middle. She controls the rhythm of the game, she's very technical and very competitive."

Groff and Dyche agree that their closeness as players and friends leads to chemistry in game-time situations.

"We always know where each other is on the field," Dyche said. "It helps us on the field that we're so close off the field as well."

Girl's Soccer

Longtime duo going for gold together

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