Anai Lopez plays an important role for the Permian girls soccer team.
Each match, she moves up and down the field with ease and that has helped the Lady Panthers keep their campaign going into the regional quarterfinal round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Lopez and Permian are scheduled to face Southlake Carroll at 1 p.m. Friday at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene.
Coach Chad Peterson knows the impact his second-year midfielder has on the flow of the game.
“It’s easy to come in and watch the game and see the ones that are hitting the back of the net all the time, or the ones that are keeping it out of our net and defending well,” Peterson said. “It’s hard to see those little intangibles that [Lopez] brings us.
“She never stops, her fitness is absolutely unbelievable.”
Along with her constantly-charged battery, Lopez has shown the ability to dribble through tightly defended spaces and connect on long passes.
Those connections have helped forwards Nyxalee Munoz and Mya Gonzales show their finishing skills in front of goal.
Through playing in the midfield, Lopez has learned that working as a team has nonstop perks because her teammates will reciprocate the hard work she puts in.
At times, setting up a strong attack feels more satisfying for Lopez than going up to score.
“It’s not always about you scoring,” Lopez said. “Sometimes you‘re just making a run, it’s bigger than actually scoring and I think that’s a really cool position to play.”
An attacking-minded player by nature, Lopez was able to make her mark with a brace in Permian’s 4-2 win against El Paso Americas in the Class 6A bi-district round.
She went on to help the Lady Panthers advance past Keller Timber Creek Tuesday by keeping consistent energy through 80 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods in a 2-1 win.
When Permian (14-5-3 overall) is in a bind, Peterson knows he can rely on Lopez to create scoring opportunities by sending her up high alongside Munoz and Gonzales.
He’ll reformat his alignment into a 3-4-3 to give the trio of attackers the opportunity to outpace opposing back lines.
Peterson said he and his staff were initially impressed with Lopez’s speed and fitness level when she first joined the varsity squad, but they quickly found out about the vision she possesses to see how plays are going to develop.
“Some of those things you can’t teach, you’ve just got to stick on the field and play,” Peterson said. “And she plays an awful lot.”
Lopez immersed herself in the game of soccer from a young age, something she credits for helping train her eye on what is happening around her.
The midfielder knows that she has to act quickly when she has the ball at her feet if she wants possessions to end with strong results.
Last year, Lopez and the Lady Panthers saw their season end with a 5-0 loss to Southlake Carroll in the area round.
“I’ll admit, I still think about that game a lot,” Lopez said. “Probably the worst game I’ve ever lost in my entire career.”
She believes her team will need to stand strong on defense and work the ball efficiently through the midfield to slow the Lady Dragons down.
Peterson said Lopez will have a busy contest against Southlake Carroll, but he’s confident about what his team can do against the Metroplex side.
“All we have to do is keep our head, do our things and play the way that we play,” Peterson said.
>> Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
