Athens’ Camila Pulido (16) battles Spring Hill’s Brynlee Catt for the ball during a Class 4A Division 2 girls soccer playoff game on Tuesday at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium. (Les Hassell/Longview News-Journal Photo)

Spring Hill expected a challenge when it traveled to play Tuesday night’s UIL 4A Division 2 girls soccer area round playoff match at Tyler’s Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium, and eventually fell behind for good after allowing three late Athens’ goals in a 4-1 season-ending defeat.

The Lady Panthers finished their 2025 season with a 16-6 record.

The Lady Hornets, meanwhile, will bring an improved 14-6 year mark to the UIL 4A Division II Region II semifinal against Aubrey or Life High School Oak Cliff later this week.

“We had some moments,” said Spring Hill girls soccer head coach David Plunk. “To give up that second goal at that time kinda blew a little bit of the wind out of our sails.”

Spring Hill goalkeeper Aundrea Johnson’s defense was strong in the early minutes of the match because she blocked an Athens’ shot attempt with 30 minutes to play in the first half, and produced saves at the 28:18 and 26:32 marks to maintain a scoreless game.

But, Athens still jumped ahead during Anna Stovall’s go-ahead goal to take a 1-0 lead at the 21:25 mark of the first half.

The Lady Hornets continued to put pressure on Spring Hill, but Johnson bounced back with two blocks on Athens’ shot attempts during the 20th minute, and added a save at the 15:25 mark.

Spring Hill also tried to respond offensively when Ava Burnette attacked, but her shot attempt flew right of the goal at the 13:43 mark.

The Lady Panthers were also awarded Abby Fisher’s free kick opportunity a few minutes later at the 9:54 mark, but her attempt landed in the hands of Athens’ goalkeeper Cobee Garner for a save.

Spring Hill continued to position itself for shots, but it once again fell short of the intended target when Alexa Johnson’s attempt was blocked by Garner at the 8:10 mark.

The Lady Panthers nearly tied the score when Liz Fleet and Olivia Trejo aimed shots in the final minute of the first half, but Athens blocked their attempts to hang on to a 1-0 lead before halftime.

Spring Hill finally broke through 53 seconds into the second half because Burnette found the back of the net on a game-tying goal attempt to make it a 1-1 score at the 39:07 mark.

The Lady Panthers looked to strike again when Fleet attempted a shot at the 31:15 mark, but Athens’ Garner bounced back for a save.

Athens then leaned on Stovall’s deep shot goal at the 26:49 mark to earn its second lead at 2-1.

The Lady Hornets continued to sting Spring Hill because Donna Carpenter and Camila Martinez produced late goals at the 21:22 and 6:47 marks to build up a game-deciding 4-1 advantage.