Haydan Erck knew her team needed a jump start.

Seven Lakes hadn’t started the game like they normally do, and Elkins had been on the front foot for the first ten minutes.

Seven Lakes slowly started to build themselves back into things but it was Erck that jumpstarted the Spartans, scoring a 20th minute goal as the Spartans went on to win 1-0 over Fort Bend Elkins in the bi-district round on Thursday.

It was a picture perfect goal for Erck, as she took a defender one-on-one before blasting a shot from 20-yards out that sailed past the keeper and into the back of the net.

“I knew there were three defenders back when I got the ball, but I also saw that there was space and I was one-on-one with just one defender,” Erck said. “My coach always says go one v one if you can so I saw that and attacked. I got space so I shot and was able to get the goal.”

That goal was all Seven Lakes would need, as the Spartans would hang on for a win, but it wasn’t without Elkins giving the Spartans everything it had.

Elkins tried their best to attack in the first half, but the Seven Lakes back line did a strong job keeping the team at bay. After the slow start, Seven Lakes rallied back to dominate the rest of the first half.

“We just had to do what we’ve been doing all season,” said Seven Lakes head coach Kaitlyn Eidson. “There was a little bit of excitement for the playoffs and they had just come back from spring break, so they had to get their rhythm back. They were able to do that and they took that excitement and put it into how we were playing on the field.”

Seven Lakes came into the matchup the expected winner, but Elkins never backed down and they continued to fight throughout the second half. But the Spartans defense held strong.

“The defense was just massive tonight,” Erck said. “We couldn’t buy a goal in that second half, but they never let them get close. The defense had to be really big and they were.”

Having such a tough matchup in the first round was a blessing for the Spartans, as it prepared the team for what they will face the rest of the way and gave them a good opponent coming off the long break after spring break.

“We really picked ourselves up and encouraged each other today,” said Katie Fitzpatrick. “There was a lot of positive communication and today was kind of a light switch for us.”

Seven Lakes will play the winner of Houston Memorial and Lamar 5:30 Tuesday at Spring Woods.

“We have a couple things we need to work on, but we just have to keep playing our game,” Erck said. “If we keep doing that and stay positive, we’ll be good.”