Stewart Johnson
Carroll soccer is still having a moment.
For the past six years, the Lady Dragons soccer team has set a new standard of excellence under longtime head coach Matt Colvin. The girls won 6A state championships in 2019 and 22, and then made it to the state finals and semi-finals in 2023 and 2024, respectively. If the core of these recent teams had not opted to play at the next levels -- or if some plays had gone the other way -- it is arguable the Carroll girls could have won the last three consecutive state titles.
Here we are in 2025 and the Lady Dragons are, once again, a formidable opponent – despite losing six would-be starters to post-high school soccer. They, like the 2025 Carroll boys team, have been highly ranked this season by other outlets, including the “Dallas Morning News” who have consistently ranked both teams in the top-2 in the area all season long.
In his fourth season as the boys head coach, Chris Padilla is now coaching seniors on this year’s team that were freshmen when he took charge during the 2021-22 season. And with a deep squad led by those seniors, the Dragons are ready to make noise of their own.
Stewart Johnson
Thanks to rosters full of experience and talent, both teams are excelling in the early months of the season, eyeing potentially deep playoff runs. January was an especially dominant month for both teams, and February looks good so far, too: as of press time, in 14 matches since the start of 2025, the Lady Dragons have outscored their opponents 50-14; the Drag ons have scored 32 goals and allowed only eight.
DRAGONS ARE DEEP, EXPERIENCED
The boys have an impressive complement of 22 seniors driving what Padilla says has been the key to the team’s fast start: a strong sense of veteran leadership amongst a squad that has gigantic expectations.
“[The seniors] have been a driving force in everything we do,” Padilla says. “They’ve bought in, and the effects on our culture have been contagious.”
One such player who’s reaped the most from the team’s veteran leadership is John Skiermont. The sophomore forward currently leads the way for the Dragons in points with four goals and three assists. Senior Townes Hargrove has three goals, senior Chris Parsons has two and seniors Fife Adeyemo and Ayden Vidal and juniors Jimi Illutomade and Cole Swett all have one. Bruno Ganimi, a freshman getting minutes for Carroll, also has a goal.
“We’re a really close team,” Parsons says. “There aren’t really any cliques – we just all hang out together, and you can see that closeness translating to the field.”
The Dragon’s depth has been apparent to start the season, as 35 different players have played in at least two games – including freshman Grayson Lowe (two caps), sophomores Tyson Lipp (seven caps), Grayson Williams (two caps) and Nick Cornell (three caps), all underclassmen.
Stewart Johnson
“It’s hard to pick one, or even a few players that have stood out since we’ve had so many performing really well,” Padilla says. “[I’d mention] Townes and his delivery on free kicks and creativity in the midfield, John Skiermont for his efficiency in creating and finishing chances, Chris Parsons and Ayden Vidal for their command of the midfield, and Zac Nystrom for leading the defense.”
The comfort Padilla has with his current squad has allowed him to arrange multiple defensive lineups this season, with each contributing to the Dragon’s lock-down mentality.
“We’ve played several players in our back four this season so far, and they’ve all kept their composure in possession,” Padilla says. “We’ve been extremely organized and committed to stopping the opponent’s attack. We take defending personally, and that makes a really big difference.”
“Even when different guys have been out, we’ve still been really solid on defense,” Parsons added.
Padilla specifically mentioned his team’s 3-0 win over Euless Trinity on the road – no easy task for any team. He noted the team’s energy in the match, which he said was “through the roof.”
“From the eleven players on the field to the players on the sideline, every player on the roster contributed to the success of our team that night,” Padilla says.
LADY DRAGONS EXCELLING DESPITE MISSING WOULD-BE STARTERS
Adding to the Lady Dragon’s impressive start is the fact that, technically, the team has been missing six starting players who left the program early to pursue professional opportunities or enroll in college – though one is now back in the fold.
Kennedy Fuller and Zoe Matthews, both United States Women's Youth National Team (USWYNT) standouts, are currently on National Women’s Soccer League rosters – Fuller on Angel City FC and Matthews on the Houston Dash. Olivia Geller, Hannah Jordan and Abby Mills all enrolled in college early, opting to begin their NCAA soccer journey. Geller is currently playing for TCU, Jordan is at Penn State and Mills is at Notre Dame. All five girls would have been seniors on this year’s Lady Dragons squad.
Underclassman Kamdyn Fuller had left Carroll early to play soccer professionally while earning her high school diploma. But after a stint with USL Super League squad Trinity FC and appearances with the USWNT Youth Team, Fuller returned to Carroll for her senior year and is now on the pitch for the Lady Dragons as they march towards the playoffs.
Even with the younger Fuller’s return, missing five starting seniors would be understandably tough on any team. Colvin takes it in stride, as he must: the high school soccer season comes hard and fast in Dallas-Fort Worth and District 4-6A, where the talent level is on a national scale. The games start quickly, and for squads that have deep playoff aspirations like the Lady Dragons, a season that begins with fall conditioning can last into April when state playoffs begin.
“Our job is to manage player load and try to make sure players are as close to 100 percent each game, both physically and mentally,” Colvin says. “As we’ve moved into district play, games luckily have become more spread out. We try to find details in the game that will give our players and team the best chance at being successful.”
Stewart Johnson
Factoring in the offense Fuller will provide – as a Lady Dragon sophomore, she scored 41 goals and had 24 assists – the current squad is also filling up the stat sheet. Junior defender Olivia Holcombe has burst out of the gate this year, scoring six goals and taking 20 shots even as a back-line player. Her twin sister, junior forward Caroline, has five goals and three assists. Peyton Hayes, a junior midfielder, has six goals, including two games with two tallies. Presley Wilkerson, a sophomore, has six wins and one draw in goal for the Lady Dragons, and fellow sophomore Audrey Anderson has four goals, six assists and taken 28 shots.
Colvin said he was especially proud of the girls’ opening district game – a 3-0 win over Byron Nelson, a match that saw the Lady Dragons in total control from the opening whistle, with two goals by Hayes and another by Caroline Holcombe. Wilkerson faced one shot on goal in her shutout performance.
“We felt like we were still in control of the game even when we were defending,” Colvin says. “I thought we did a solid job of staying calm and keeping the ball. Our transition to attack [from defense] was fast and precise.”
The Lady Dragons are not as senior-laden as the boys team – only six players are in their final year of high school. But that certainly hasn’t stopped the girls from dominating their opponents.
“The goal is to stay on top of the district and get to state,” Olivia Holcombe says. “Every practice, every game, that’s our mindset.”
Even with so many scorers, defense has become the Lady Dragon’s calling card. A clean sheet is always the intent, according to Colvin.
“Our goal each game is to keep the other team from having the ball as much as possible,” Colvin says. “We are hard to score on when all the players maintain their discipline. When we do lose the ball we want to press high up the field and win the ball back as fast as possible.”
The challenge will always be there for the Carroll soccer teams; there’s too much history, too much star- power, and a very high overall winning percentage to swallow when the green, white and black jerseys take the field. And so, one factor remains consistent for both the boys and girls squads: opposing teams raise their level of play when they take the pitch against Southlake.
“Teams get up to play us,” Padilla says. “So, our challenge has been don’t react to that energy from your opponent, but make them react to your energy. Dictate the pace and temperature of the game.”