Soccer kicks off its District 13-5A season Tuesday against Heritage with the girls’ starting at 5:30 p.m. and boys’ at 7:30 p.m. at the Ford Center.

Adding on to the excitement of district play beginning, the soccer teams have the opportunity to play two games at the Dallas Cowboys’ practice stadium. But the field at the Ford Center is significantly larger than most district fields that range from 300-360 feet in length and 125-160 feet in width.

“There’s a lot more room to run which is an advantage in some ways but it’s also very taxing on the players,” head girls’ soccer coach Elizabeth Mokler said. “They have to be much more intentional, have to be highly possessive and skilled and have to make very accurate passes. It adds an element of pressure to perform a little bit cleaner.”

Working specifically on transitions and long crosses for Tuesday’s game, the girls’ team did what they could to prepare for the larger field.

“It’s kind of a challenge because it’s so massive, long, and big,” junior Andrea Chladny said. “We will have to be subbing a lot more and spreading the field out because there is so much more room than when we play here at Liberty. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. Most people don’t get to play in such a prestigious stadium.”

For sophomore John Keene, this will be his first time playing at The Star, and the excitement of playing at the state-of-the-art stadium outweighs the strain of a larger field.

“I’ve never played there,” Keene said. “Since it’s my first time, I’m really excited to do it I think it’s going to be a great experience to me growing into being a better soccer player. Just more intensity, playing harder to get your conditioning up for a bigger field.”