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NEDERLAND — The Nederland girls soccer team will compete in the 5A state playoffs this week.

After locking up the fourth seed in the district with a 6-6 record, the Bulldogs take on Friendswood, which finished first in their district.

The match starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at Baytown Sterling.

Nederland’s first-year head coach, Layken Woolls, said she is proud of what the team accomplished.

“We’ve come a long way during the season,” she said. “We have made so much progress, and it is great to see where we are now compared to where we started.”

The Bulldogs started the season 2-7-2 and finished the season with a 6-10-2 record.

“I think through the practices, they learned new skills and started thinking about the game differently,” Woolls said. “They came together and worked through it. The really came together as a team.”

The Bulldogs won four out of their last seven games to make the postseason, including a 3-2 win over Galena Park in a win-or-go-home scenario this past weekend.

The coach said the turnaround was a team effort but added that a couple of players led the squad.

“Hanna Foster is our senior that has stepped up pretty big this year,” Woolls said. “She is our forward. Jayli Broussard has been solid for us even through her injury. She was still on the sidelines talking to people and giving them tips and points throughout the game. She was on the bench so she could see everything that was going on.”

Nederland will gave to play its best if the players want to upset the Mustangs on Thursday night.

“They are pretty solid all around,” Woolls said. “They are a very technical, well-coached team. We definitely have our work cut out for us. We will have our hands full, but you never know. You never know.”