Knights girls soccer preview

ROYAL CITY – Last season for the Knights girls soccer team went better than expected, head coach Jens Jensen said. As the fall 2025 season approaches, he feels optimistic about the team's future.  

“I feel like this year we're starting at an even better position. We have a team that looks like it's going to be pretty solid. We've got girls coming up for the next several years that are going to really strengthen the program,” he said.  

Last season, the Knights finished 15-7 overall and made an appearance in the state tournament. They made it as the 16-seed in the 1A tournament and played first-seed Cedar Park Christian. Though they would be eliminated in the first round, Jensen said he still felt good about what his team accomplished.  

Jensen pointed out freshman Grace Soliz and sophomore Maggie Frank as key contributors to their success last season. Soliz is the Knights' goalkeeper. Jensen praised her ability to be a consistent shot stopper. Frank saw a lot of growth throughout the season, Jensen said. As they head into this year, she will remain a key fixture for their game plan.   

Over the summer, Jensen said the team has been working hard to be prepared for the fall season.  

“When we got together in the summer, and we had a lot of the girls that were going to be important, and went out and played, the girls looked great. They had their heads up, they were playing feet, and they were moving the ball. I was pretty impressed, I think we're probably going to start in a position that will be better than we have started in the past,” Jensen said.  

Jensen said there has been an influx of underclassmen recently that makes him optimistic about the program's future. More of these incoming players are starting to arrive with experience playing club soccer.  

“In the 20-plus years that I've been doing this, there's never been a group that came through that has played this much club soccer,” Jensen said. “But to have an entire group coming through that could be as deep as 12, 13 or 14 girls that have all played a significant amount of club soccer as a youth is going to be great. It's going to be a big deal. 

With the roster he has this year, Jensen said his experienced players will bring strong leadership. A few of his players also compete in other sports at Royal High School, where they have experience filling important roles.  

On the flip side, the Knights anticipate managing player health throughout the season. According to Jensen, it’s important for their success not to absorb too many injuries.  

“Always the concern is injury. We're not so deep that we can absorb injuries to our key players. We're just not deep enough to be able to absorb that,” he said.  

He said that years ago, the players had done a good job of managing their health and maintaining durability. As he looks at the landscape of the league, Jensen feels confident his team will continue its upswing and be competitive this season.  

“I wouldn't name a specific team in the league that we're looking to and going, ‘oh, man, they're going to be such a challenge for us,’ I think I feel like the league's pretty open,” he said.  

Jensen said it will be important to play to their strengths throughout the season to achieve success. He said the Knights will need to stay organized defensively, remain dynamic on the attack and be a threat on the attack from the wings.  

One aspect they will work on is set pieces. This concept refers to plays that start from a dead-ball scenario after a stoppage in play. For example, free kicks, corner kicks, penalty kicks, throw-ins and goal kicks. Jensen said if they can figure out that aspect of the game, they will be dangerous.  

“The bottom line is, I believe we will be competitive. I foresee that we are going to be very competitive in the league,” Jensen said.  

The Knights girls soccer team opens the season at home against the Connell Eagles on September 4 at 6 p.m. 

We'll be publishing more reviews of prior seasons and upcoming seasons outside of football over the next few weeks, with a fall sports preview wrapping up Friday, Sept. 5.

    The Royal Knights girls soccer team running goal keeping drills last season. Head Coach Jens Jensen said the team exceeded expectations last season and hope to build off of that this fall.
  

    Knights player Vanessa Cedillo goes after the ball defended by Kylee Orth, with Ruby Hernandez looking on at a Royal girls soccer practice last fall. Head Coach Jens Jensen said his team has looked good