Round Rock, Kalen Murphy end regular season on a high note

Courtesy Photo

After Round Rock lost to Westwood in the first round of district play this season, Kalen Murphy and the rest of the girls' soccer team weren't about to let it happen again.

The Dragons trounced the Warriors 4-0 at home in the second half of district play, one of the highlights of Murphy's senior year in high school.

"When we played them again, our midst totally changed and everybody was working together," Murphy said. "Playing for Round Rock, I met all my closest friends and they mean a lot to me. I know I can count on anybody for anything."

Murphy was three years old when her parents started trying to help her figure out what sport she wanted to do. She tried some other sports like tee-ball before her dad became a soccer coach and she really started to enjoy it.

She spent her freshman season on the varsity team at Leander and has spent the last two years on the top squad at Round Rock.

In that span, the Dragons have made the playoff twice, advancing to the fourth round last season.

The third-year Round Rock head coach Chad Aldrich is the only varsity coach Murphy has known since coming to Round Rock, and he's been a little different from the club and high school coaches she's had in the past.

"He doesn't take anything personally," she said. "He takes into consideration everybody's thoughts and feelings about how we should play and what we can do in practice to make us perform better."

Murphy said another special experience she's had at Round Rock was a workout class with Performance Course, which brought in coaches to workout and train together and focuses on increasing the athletic performance.

"That meant a lot for us," Murphy said. "Coach (Zach) Fowler is the main performance coach at Round Rock. He really helped push everybody and helped us become closer. It was special to do that my last season."

Murphy is deciding between attending Michigan State and LSU to continue her academic career and plans to study geology.

Whether the high school soccer season resumes is still up in the air. The UIL has suspended all sanctioned activities due to the COVID-19 outbreak until further notice. The earliest games can resume is May 4.

After falling to Hendrickson in the penultimate game of the regular season, Round Rock trounced Vista Ridge 5-0 in the finale, ending on a high note in what could be the last game played this year.

"Especially for the seniors, because playoff may or may not happen, getting that last win was really special," Murphy said. "When I started my freshman year (at Leander), we didn't have a good season. It was special we could end on a high note and a winning season."

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Originally published at hillcountrynews.com: https://www.hillcountrynews.com/stories/round-rock-kalen-murphy-end-regular-season-on-a-high-note,81990