Boys, girls soccer state semifinals: Fort Worth-area preview, things to know
The Texas high school soccer UIL state semifinals are here, and several Fort Worth-area teams are looking to punch their tickets to a state championship. Here is a preview for both boys and girls soccer.
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD teams dominate girls’ soccer playoffs
In the inaugural season of split-division soccer, there were two girls’ soccer Class 5A region one finals, and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD schools won both of them.
Grapevine girls soccer advanced in the Class 5A Division 2 bracket, while Colleyville Heritage moved on in the Class 5A Division 1 bracket. Now, the Mustangs and Panthers are preparing for state semifinals, which is familiar territory for the two GCISD teams.
Colleyville Heritage (16-2-1) will face Midlothian (23-1-1) at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at Vernon Newsom Stadium.
Grapevine (11-10-4) will face Frisco Wakeland (23-0-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 4, at Coppell High School.
Grapevine is making its seventh state tournament appearance; all of them have come within the past decade. The Mustangs won a Class 5A title in 2023 and are looking to win their second.
Colleyville Heritage is fresh off a state championship heartbreak in the 2024 season. The Panthers don’t have quite the history that Grapevine does, but they have been the more successful program throughout the past two seasons.
The Panthers won a district title in 2024 and finished as the runner-up in 2025, taking the district’s top spot into the Class 5A Division 1 bracket after the group of four was separated based on enrollment.
Heritage won a Class 4A title in 1999 but then went from 2001 to 2024 without a state tournament berth. The Panthers have a young, talented team that has showcased veteran maturity throughout the playoff run.
Two players to watch include sophomore forwards Addison Shimmick and Ashlyn Bringedahl, who both scored in the Panthers’ regional final victory.
In District 6-5A play, both squads did not claim the district title, which was won by Argyle. Grapevine, the fourth-place finisher in the district that lost twice to Argyle, got its revenge by eliminating the Eagles in a regional final overtime thriller that ended in a penalty shootout.
Grapevine will have to overcome its toughest challenge yet in Frisco Wakeland, a four-time state champion and the 2024 Class 5A state champion. The Wolverines have yet to lose a game this season.
Colleyville Heritage will also have a tough opponent in Midlothian, the District 15-5A champion. Midlothian is on a 20-game win streak heading into the state semifinal.
Boys soccer: Saginaw’s stock is rising, Castleberry continues dominant run
Saginaw boys’ soccer has improved exponentially within the last two seasons.
In 2024, the Rough Riders won an area round playoff game for the first time in program history. They built off a strong foundation and are now heading to the Class 5A Division 2 state semifinals, the program’s first, after a 1-0 victory over Bel Air.
Saginaw (14-9-2), representing Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD, will face Highland Park (19-1-2) at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at Coppell High School’s Buddy Echols Field.
The Rough Riders have had a solid season, finishing second in District 5-5A. Highland Park claimed first in District 12-5A and will take a 14-game win streak into the state semifinals.
Another team that is thriving is Fort Worth Castleberry. The Lions have been absolutely dominant this postseason, outscoring opponents 14-0 and extending their win streak to 11 games.
Castleberry (19-1-3) is set to make its first state tournament appearance. The Lions, in a Class 4A Division 1 semifinal, will face Nevada Community (15-3-2) at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at McKinney ISD Stadium.
Castleberry, the only boys soccer team remaining from Fort Worth, has seen several successful seasons in recent years and finally got over the regional final hump. The Lions have been a force this season, scoring 83 times while only allowing 13 goals.
They haven’t allowed a goal since a 5-1 victory over Collegiate Academy at TCC Northeast Phoenix. Since then, Castleberry has outscored opponents 39-0.
A boys soccer team from Tarrant County hasn’t won a state title in nearly 14 years; Castleberry and Saginaw are both two wins away from ending the drought; the last Tarrant County squad to win it all was Southlake Carroll in the 2011 season.
Birdgeport (15-6), after taking down Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis, will also make a state semifinal appearance. The Bulls will face Gainesville (17-3-3) at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 4, at Lake Dallas High School.
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