Freshman Chavarria playing significant role for Honeybees’ air-tight defense

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Sophomore sensation Beatris Chavarria, shown in action last season, has three goals already for unbeaten Stephenville, scoring the initial goal in all three matches. || The Flash Today media library

By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com

STEPHENVILLE (April 10, 2017) — Everyone already knew about Midwestern State signees Savannah Alford and Kalee Wright, and word has gotten out quickly about freshman keeper Madison Wyly.

But there is a fourth Stephenville player with a key role in a defensive group that has allowed only seven goals all season, just one in five playoff matches and none against two-time defending state champ and No. 1 ranked Kennedale last Saturday.,

Beatris Chavarria doesn’t make many headlines because she doesn’t play in the attacking third. Instead, Chavarria is the player most responsible for keeping other teams’ best scorers out of those same headlines.


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Like many of Stephenville’s talented state-bound Honeybees, Chavarria is just a freshman. Also like many of her classmates, that fact hasn’t slowed her a step as she’s filled her role admirably for a Honeybee side that captured its first regional championship in program history last weekend and will make its first state tournament appearance at 11 a.m. Wednesday in a semifinal against Athens. The winner advances to the state championship at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, all in Georgetown.

“We knew coming in that (Kennedale’s Erika McIntyre) can really play, but I’m telling you we have one just as good or better than her in (Chavarria),” said Stephenville head coach Casey Weil moments after the historic win. “She always marks the other team’s best player, every match, and she’s terrific. She stopped (McIntyre) and before that she took the girl from Melissa who is going to Texas A&M completely out of the game, just made her a non-factor.”


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It’s what Chavarria has done all season. Or, as she looks at it, it’s just doing her job.

“I just had to push through against those players and have confidence in myself to get back and not get beat,” she said. “I want to help my team and not let them score.”

The challenge against McIntyre was different than against just about any other player in 4A girls soccer simply because of the Kennedale star’s sheer speed.

“Since I can’t beat her speed, I just had to read what her next move would be,” Chavarria explained. “She tried a lot of skills on me, but I was able to get the ball away from her.”

Alford and Wright are the experienced bell cows of the lockdown Stephenville defense, but Wright was quick to point out the performance of Chavarria.


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“Beatris is a beast, she just tears it up out there. She made (McIntyre) frustrated and kept her from beating us,” Wright said. “When we know we can mark the other team’s best player with someone as good as Beatris, that’s a big advantage for us.”

They hope Chavarria will provide the same advantage at the state tournament this week.

Wright doesn’t only believe the freshman defender will deliver, but the entire team.

“In the back of my mind was that if we win this game we can win state, and that pushed me through,” said Wright of the immense challenge fem Kennedale. “I truly believe that. The teams at state, obviously, will be really good, but we know if we can get past Kennedale we can get past anyone.”


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1 Comment

  1. Funny how coaches see what they want to see, and not necessarily what really happens.

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