Sachse's boys have lost two straight, but make no mistake, coach Jake Bruehl expects big things from his team.

"This is the best team we've ever had at Sachse," Bruehl said. "I'm getting jokes from all the coaches, 'You guys are the team to beat.' "

Bruehl isn't sure about that, but he expects his squad to be right in the middle of a tough battle with Rockwall and Garland Naaman Forest when District 10-5A play begins next week.

Fueling Bruehl's optimism is the play of midfielders T.J. Nelson and E.J. Eaton and goalkeeper Brady Wood, all juniors. Nelson, who participated in the under-17 national team residency program in 2006, leads the team with six goals and seven assists.

Sachse, a fifth-year program, finished second to Rockwall in district and won a school-record 19 games last year. Sachse lost to eventual state runner-up Plano West in a shootout in last year's bi-district playoffs. With a majority of that team returning, it's easy to see why Bruehl has high expectations.

Coppell girls learn from loss in opener

Coppell girls coach Chris Stricker considered the preseason No. 1 national ranking that studentsportssoccer.com bestowed on his team as a sign of respect for not only his current players, but the ones who graduated last year.

Although Coppell didn't hang on to the top ranking after losing to Grapevine in the season opener, Stricker is extremely pleased with his team. It's easy to see why. With five Division I recruits, very few teams can match Coppell's talent.

Defender Jazmyne Avant (Florida), Emily Erickson (Texas), Rachel Fuller (East Carolina), Kendell Webber (Texas State) and Courtney Land (undecided) are expected to sign national letters of intent next month. Junior Laura Sadler and sophomores Alyssa Diggs and Katie Bass are already Division I recruits.

Since its 3-2 loss to Grapevine, Coppell is 4-0-1, tying Amador Valley (Calif.) and defeating Tyler Lee, St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Lake Highlands and Keller. Coppell is No. 17 in this week's national rankings.

"It taught my girls a lot," Stricker said of the Grapevine loss. "There's that saying that hustle beats talent when talent doesn't hustle. I think it was a blessing in disguise."

The Grapevine loss was all too familiar. Grapevine stunned Coppell in the bi-district round of the playoffs last season.

Richardson girls gaining confidence

Richardson's first-year coach Sean Falloure heard this while breaking down film Monday: "Coach, that's the way you drew it up. I'm glad we were finally able to do it that way."

Considering that Richardson had won just once and had five goals last season, it was big step.

Richardson is 3-1 after winning the consolation championship at last week's Richardson Berkner Ice Bowl. Richardson scored 11 goals and allowed five. Last season, Richardson's goals-against average was nearly six per game.

"The girls believe they can do it," Falloure said. "It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is."

Junior Carolyn Brutto and senior Rachel Collins give some valuable leadership to a fairly young team that has three freshmen starters. Brutto scored five goals, and Collins had two goals and three assists last week. Richardson is anchored in the back with sophomore speedsters Cat Young, Brionna Minde and Michelle Grzybowski.

"I'm not a person that likes to lose," Brutto said. "It's been hard to be on a team that hasn't always been strong and hasn't always been the winning team."

McKinney's Funk named state's player of year

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America named McKinney senior forward Zach Funk the state's player of the year. Last month, Funk and Flower Mound Marcus senior forward Sam Garza were named to the NSCAA's All-America team.

Funk earned the honor based on his high school and club performance in 2007. Funk recorded a school-record 26 goals. He was a member of the Andromeda '90 club team that won the Under-17 national championship in July.

Funk saw his first action this season in Tuesday's 3-0 victory against McKinney Boyd. It was the first time he has run full sprints since he injured his hip Dec. 30. Funk took himself out after 10 minutes but quickly returned. Although he didn't score, he was involved and contributed to a relentless attack. Funk left for good with nine minutes remaining because of leg cramps.