Everything seemed to come together for the Mexico girls this week.

Mexico vs Canton Senior Night Photo Gallery

The Lady Bulldogs played their final two regular season games on Monday and Tuesday, winning 5-1 at North Central Missouri Conference rival Fulton and beating Canton 3-0 the next night at Chris Hotop Field on Senior Night. Mexico begins the Class 2 District 3 tournament at 2 p.m. Saturday against Christian (5-6) at St. Francis Borgia in Washington.

Head coach Sarah Olson said Mexico (6-14-1) has had every part of its strategy this season but not all at once. The wins against Fulton and Canton, however, showcased a more complete Lady Bulldog team.

“We’ve done a good job all year of playing hard, but we’ve just been missing pieces a lot in every game,” Olson said. “We fill that piece in and then there’s something else that comes. Winning balls in the air, using the whole field, running through the ball and those sorts of things. We’ve been working on so many things all year, so just by the end of the year, it’s all come together.”

Last season, Olson said Mexico had all of its pieces in another sense, meaning it didn’t have all of its players available in a 4-0 loss at Canton. That loss was the first of the Lady Bulldogs’ two defeats to end the regular season, scoring no goals in that span.

It was a polar opposite conclusion to Mexico’s regular season this year as it scored an eight combined goals in two victories that put its win total to a four-year high of six. Mexico ended last season with three wins and has definitely surpassed what it was a year ago.

“We were defending a corner and we transitioned to a goal,” Olson said. “I know it hasn’t happened since I’ve been head coach but maybe not even assistant coach.”

Leading scorer Claire Hudson scored twice in the first 13 minutes after receiving passes from senior Jamilet Medina and Bailey Christianson to set up breakaway opportunities. Freshman Aunna Bessolo became involved at the 25th minute, putting in a loose ball at the edge of the goalie box for her first career varsity goal.

“It’s just really cool, and all of the girls get really excited when someone scores for the first time,” Olson said. “Claire has scored a lot of goals for us, but yesterday, we had several people get one.”

On Monday at Fulton Claire and Grace Hudson each had a goal along with Brenda Matuz, Emily Moppin had two assists while Claire Hudson added one helper, and Bailey Christianson scored twice. Christianson’s goals were her first two, and she kept that aggressiveness the next day with three shots in the first half against Canton.

“She has earned that spot,” Olson said. “She sets up a lot of things, like she really set up Claire’s second goal. She had a very good shot (against Canton). One was with her left foot, and it was just as nice as right foot even though she’s right-footed.”

The seniors have especially been valuable pieces, Olson said. Mexico had three in their first years with the program, including two foreign exchange students, Keyla Hernandez, Maite Esteban and Lotte Van Grinsven. The program has also had three that have given four years, including Medina, Katie Gooch and Liz Joiner.

“It was a little bit of a different setup for our seniors, but I will definitely miss them,” Olson said. “I’m glad they have played for however long they played.”

Each of Olson’s four-year seniors echo that sentiment and have many moments they hold dear while they were Lady Bulldogs.

“Getting to hang out with all of my friends at practice and definitely coach Olson because she is my tennis coach too along with soccer,” Gooch said when asked about her favorite parts of the program. “I feel like (Olson and I) have a bond because we spend so much time together. I’m going to miss soccer a lot and tennis.”

“My favorite memory was beating Fulton because that’s always been a rival,” Medina said. “Being able to finish strong was great, and I will also miss everybody on the team, especially coach Olson and Roach. They have made me a better person and strong player.”

“My favorite memory was my freshman year when the only game we won was against Moberly,” Joiner said. “We contributed that game to Emma (Azdell). Things I’ll miss is Olson, because Olson was my fourth-grade teacher, and hanging out with my friends and getting to play soccer. It’s just a fun thing to do after school instead of going home or going to work.”

Now Mexico has to focus on districts, and Olson believes winning the final two games this season will put the team in a better position.

“Going into districts with a couple wins is definitely a better way to enter,” Olson said. “We have a little bit of confidence, we’ve scored quite a few goals and we’ve seen good play out on the field. That’s a really good setup for us.”