UIL state soccer championships: Which North Texas schools secured title victories?
The UIL soccer state tournament is underway in Georgetown, Texas.
Five state championship games are in the books. Check back here for updates on title games, and click here to see a schedule of games.
Prosper defeats Westlake in girls Class 6A state championship
Propser made its first state tournament appearance and capitalized, defeating Austin Westlake 1-0 to win the girls Class 6A state championship at Birkelbach Field.
The game was tied until the 53rd minute, when Prosper junior midfielder Olivia Hess, the game’s most valuable player, fired a successful shot from 22 yards out. The Eagle defense continued to stymie Westlake; the Chaparrals had three shots in the contest, two of which were on goal.
“It feels amazing,” Hess said. “We wanted the seniors to go out with a bang. I knew winning a title would be a great way to do that. This was a great team effort to get here, and it just feels amazing.”
Prosper (26-2-2) head coach Matt Dickinson said Hess struggled in the first half, but waited for an opportunity and capitalized on it.
“We just pumped her up,” Dickinson said. “She’s a great player, and she is probably her hardest critic.”
Hess said she knew she had a great opportunity before the game-winning goal.
“I needed to score,” Hess said. “So, I just shot it with my laces and finished it.”
Although Prosper didn’t get its breakthrough moment in the second half, it had two great early opportunities. In the 18th minute, Samantha Tovar put a shot off the cross bar. About 18 minutes later, Hess also hit the same spot.
Westlake (17-5-2) narrowly escaped a deficit, but the opportunities allowed to Prosper’s offense eventually caught up to the Chaparrals. Dickinson said the missed opportunities were frustrating but also encouraging because they were such close calls.
“You gotta tip your hat to the goalkeeper,” Dickinson said. “We couldn’t really put the shots anywhere better. You just gotta tip your hat.”
The Eagle defense did its job, preventing Westlake from taking a shot for the entirety of the first half. Dickinson said he felt the team could hold a lead if they were able to score the first goal. In the end, that’s exactly what the Eagles did.
“Defensively, we felt very comfortable,” Dickinson said. “A lot of the things they created were off of our mistakes. On set pieces they could cause some problems. … We really weren’t that threatened.”
Westlake has four state appearances and, similarly to Prosper, was also looking for its first championship.
Midlothian defeats Frisco Wakeland, secures first state title
Midlothian made history in its first state tournament appearance, securing a Class 5A state championship with a 3-1 victory over Frisco Wakeland at Birkelbach Field on Saturday.
Landon Exley tallied an insurance goal in the 78th minute to seal the win for the Panthers. The Midlothian midfield and defense kept the Wolverines off the scoreboard for the final 60 minutes of the match to solidify the historic victory.
Midlothian head coach Austin Guest said there are special players on the Panther’s roster.
“Everyone was working together and working really hard,” Guest said. “I think that’s what brought us success all the way through the playoffs.”
Wakeland struck first in the 20th minute with a goal from Thomas Hayes, who capitalized on a well placed corner kick. Midlothian, one minute later, tied the match with a penalty kick from Caden Nazier, who was fouled in the box.
“They’ve got a lot of grit,” Guest said of his team. “A whole lot of teams, if you go down 1-0 to Wakeland in a final -- they just figure its the end of the story. These guys will not do that. They’ve been up and they’ve been down. That’s what they do.”
Midlothian took the lead in the 45th minute with Nazier continuing his elite play. He sent a corner kick to Ayden Hildreth, who put in the go ahead goal; the Panthers held the lead the rest of the way.
Hildreth finished with a goal and an assist and was named the championship most valuable player.
“(Ayden Hildreth) is a go-getter,” Guest said. “He’s an awesome kid and a great finisher. Just a fantastic player.”
Wakeland boys soccer has been dominant in recent memory with nine state tournament appearances since 2010 and five state championship victories. The Panthers prevented the Wolverines from winning the Class 5A championships in both boys and girls soccer.
Although many believed Midlothian to be the underdog, the Panthers went in to the title game with confidence according to Guest.
“Any team that gets to the regional tournament is a good enough team to win state,” Guest said. “You just have to keep grinding, get a few calls, not quit and hope the ball bounces your way a few times.”
Hildreth said no one on the team knew what the Panthers were capable of at the start of the season, and added they knew Wakeland would be a challenge since its a Frisco soccer squad. The championship win left Hildreth speechless.
“I honestly don’t even know what to think right now,” Hildreth said.
Frisco Wakeland girls defeat Colleyville Heritage to claim 5A title
Frisco Wakeland (26-0-2) compelted an undefeated season at Birkelbach Field with a 3-2 victory over Colleyville Heritage (24-1-2) on Saturday. For more in depth coverage of the game, click here.
Katy Seven Lakes defeats Flower Mound to win 6A title
In conseuctive seasons, Katy Seven Lakes celebrated a Class 6A state championship victory.
Seven Lakes defeated Flower Mound 2-1 in overtime at Birkelbach Field on Saturday. Aidan Morrison, the game’s most valuable player, scored on a 30 yard free kick in the 97th minute, and the Jaguars failed to put in the equalizer.
Noa Stasic put Seven Lakes (25-1-2) on the board in the 49th minute. Flower Mound, in the 69th minute, secured a game tying goal with a Landon DeLeeuw header but could not capitalize on the momentum.
Flower Mound (23-3-2) had four shots on goal to Seven Lake’s 10, and Jaguar goalkeeper Morgan English kept things close with eight saves.
Flower Mound made its second state tournament appearance with its first resulting in a state championship in the 2019 season. To reach the final, Flower Mound defeated Vandegrift 2-0 on Friday.
San Elizario boys outlast Boerne, secure Class 4A title
For the second time in program history, the San Elizario Eagles are state champions.
San Elizario defeated Boerne 1-0 on Friday at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown, Texas in a UIL Class 4A state championship match. In a low scoring affair, Francisco Marquez’s highlight reel goal from 25 yards out 62 minutes into the game was the difference maker.
“That was probably the best goal I’ve scored in my life,” Marquez said. “Especially considering it was in the state final.”
Marquez, who was assisted by Angel Valdez on the game winner, received the Class 4A state championship most valuable player award.
“I didn’t think much of it,” Marquez said of the shot. “I just saw the goalie and took a shot. Fortunately, it went in. I enjoyed the goal.”
The Eagles have made the state tournament four times since 2018, and were finally able to get over the hump. San Elizario (23-3) handed Boerne (22-1) its only loss of the season.
“It feels great,” Marquez said. “After fighting for four years, it just feels great to be a state champion.”
San Elizario’s defense and midfield was dominant, controlling the tempo and limiting Boerne’s chances to score. Boerne only took one shot and had zero shots on goal, and Marquez credited the team’s chemistry for the success.
“Staying together as a family,” Marquez said. “Not giving up and cheering on everyone.”
San Elizario, on the other hand, had 13 total shots, eight of which were on the goal. Boerne goalkeeper Ben Niedoken did a fantastic job limiting the damage, making seven saves.
The Boerne Greyhounds lost in both the girls and boys 4A state championship games. The boys squad won back-to-back state championships in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Celina girls defeat Boerne, secure championship three-peat
Celina girls soccer made history in Georgetown, Texas on Thursday, defeating Boerne 1-0 at Birkelbach field to secure its third consecutive class 4A state championship.
Celina’s (26-1-2) lone goal scorer was junior forward Grace Pritchard, who was named the most valuable player. The Bobcats had a strong turnout from their fans, who packed the stands with orange and white.
Celina head coach Alexander Adams said the championship win was surreal.
“We have a really young team,” Adams said. “It started out a little chippy at first to begin the year. We battled through that and felt we improved wonderfully as a team and earn that number one rankings.”
It was a personal, emotional championship win for Adams because of a death in his family.
“Not to make this about me, but my father passed away,” Adams said. “ ... That happened in the second half of district. To go through that tragedy and to have my team and the Celina community lift me up and pick me back up again and to come out here and finish this -- it’s just unbelievable. You can’t make up a story like that.”
Pritchard scored the sole goal three minutes into the second half, and was assisted by Ryleigh Stifflemire. The Bobcat defense and midfield continued to shut down Boerne’s offense; it was a narrow lead but it was all Celina needed.
Adams said Boerne was similar to Anna, a team in district 11-4A with Celina.
“We kinda already had a gameplan for them,” Adams said. “We felt like we could’ve executed what we did against Anna. And that’s exactly what we did.”
Celina is the second girls team in the history of the UIL to secure three consecutive championship victories. The Bobcats’s defense and midfield put on a masterclass, allowing Boerne (23-2-3) to tally two shots on goal.
This story was originally published April 11, 2024 at 5:33 PM.
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