UIL State Soccer Roundup, Day 1: Stephenville girls cruise to Class 4A title game

Stephenville’s Ashley Perez scored three times and Vanessa Gonzalez had three assists as the Honeybees rolled into the Class 4A girls state title game with a 4-0 whitewashing of Lumberton on Wednesday in the state semifinals at Georgetown High School.

Stephenville (25-0-1) will try to capture its third championship in as many appearances when the Honeybees take on Celina (28-0-0) at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Celina, the defending 4A champs, blanked Boerne 2-0 in the first semifinal.

Stephenville won championships in 2017 and 2019, the only times the Honeybees have made trips to the final four.

Lumberton (21-3-1) was trying to reach its first state title game in three appearances. The Raiders lost in the semifinals in 2019 and 2022.

Gonzalez entered the game in the 10th minute as a sub and went to work right away slipping a pass to Perez in the 11th minute. Perez tapped it past the Lumberton goalkeeper for an early 1-0 lead.

The remained 1-0 for the rest of the half, but the Honeybees took over after the break.

Stephenville out shot Lumberton 14-4 and 9-1 in the second half. Only one of the Raiders four shots was on goal compared to 10 for the Honeybees.

Stephenville upped the lead to 2-0 in the 41st minute when Victoria Cameron battled for a ball in the box before tapping it to Perez who punched it home.

Stephenville put the game away in the 71st minute when Perez slipped one inside the left post from 20 yards out from Gonzalez for 3-0 lead. Tania Sanchez’s header to the left post from 15 yards out, again from Gonzales, capped the scoring in the 79th minute.

CLASS 4A GIRLS STATE SEMIFINALS

Celina 2, Boerne 0

The Celina girls soccer team dominated play, out shooting Boerne 16-1, and picked up goals in each half to down the Greyhounds 2-0 in the first Class 4A state semifinal on Wednesday.

Celina (28-0-0) will attempt to win back-to-back state titles when the Bobcats face Stephenville (25-0-1) 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. This is the second trip to the state tournament for Celina.

Boerne (26-3-0) was making its fourth state tournament appearance and was trying to reach the championship game for the second time, the first being in 2017. The Greyhounds lost to Celina 3-0 in the semis last season.

Lexi Tuite opened the scoring for the Bobcats in the 26th minute. The senior took a pass from Madi Vana, spun around and put one just inside the post from 20 yards out.

Mia Norman’s free kick from 50 yards out in the 56th minute just made it over the Boerne goalkeepers head to put the Bobcats up 2-0.

CLASS 4A BOYS STATE SEMIFINALS

Palestine 3, Lumberton 2 OT

The Palestine and Lumberton boys soccer teams battled back and forth until Tony Sanchez’s header off a cross by Ty Carnes in the 95th minute in the second overtime period proved to be the winner as the Wildcats escaped with a 3-2 win in the Class 4A boys state semifinals.

Palestine (31-1-1) will attempt to pick up its second state title when the Wildcats face Hidalgo (28-7-3) at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Palestine is making its fifth trip to the state tournament and it will be the third time the Wildcats have reached the championship game.

Palestine won a title in 2016.

It looked as if Palestine had control of the game taking leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but the Raiders battled back each time. The Wildcats out shot Lumberton 16-9 for the game.

After a scoreless first half, Palestine finally broke through in the 59th minute when Andy Garcia corralled a loose ball around the penalty kick spot and tapped it to Ty Carnes who found the back of the net.

Lumberton evened the match when Luke Hansen headed in a corner kick by Rudy Hansen in the 73rd minute.

Rolando Gallegos gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead in the first minute of overtime when he blasted a shot from 30 yards out to the left post. But the Raiders answered in the 91st minute when Cameron Weatherford’s shot from 15 yards out from Quincy Green beat the Palestine keeper.

It was the deepest playoff run for the Raiders in school history. Lumberton (22-2-3) reached the regional semifinals in 2019.

Hidalgo 1, San Elizario 0

Reynaldo Cantu took a loose ball off the cross bar and scored with 47 seconds left in regulation as Hidalgo stunned San Elizario 1-0 in the second boys Class 4A state semifinal on Wednesday.

It will be the first time in 14 years for the Pirates to play for a state title. Hidalgo (28-7-3) has now made the state tournament for the third time and was the 2009 champion.

San Elizario (24-3-1), who knocked out Fort Worth Western Hills (2-0) and Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis (3-0) in the Region I tournament, had a couple of chances in the 73rd and 74th minutes, but shots by Marco Legarda and Darey Garcia both sailed high.

Hidalgo out shot San Elizario 10-7 with 5 on goal for the Pirates and 3 on target for the Eagles. Joaquin Rosales blasted the shot that hit the cross bar before Cantu scored the game winner.

San Elizario was hoping to capture its fourth state title in as many state appearances. The Eagles were the 2015, 2018 and 2019 Class 4A champions.

This story was originally published April 13, 2023 at 2:06 AM.