SUBSCRIBE & follow to get all my video content!
kzfaq.info_c...
/ mrbowtie1982
GEORGETOWN - They say if you ignore history you are bound to repeat it. History was against Michael Strong and the Boerne Boys Soccer winning the 2022 4A title. Only 3 head coaches in the San Antonio area had ever won back to back titles in any of the 8 major sports the UIL awards championships in. Plus they gave up the 1st goal in the final against Celina and no one had allowed the 1st goal in a boys soccer final and won since 2010. Add in no one had trailed in both the semis and finals and won since 2000. And San Antonio area teams in recent state finals have had terrible luck with penalty kicks.
Boerne ignored all of it.
Jess Gonzalez scored on a penalty in extra time and Boerne simultaneously ended several long streaks of San Antonio futility in beating Celina 2-1 in extra time to capture their 2nd straight boys soccer title becoming the 1st area soccer team ever to defend a UIL state title, the 1st to repeat in any UIL sport since Bandera girls cross country won 4 in a row from 2014-2017 & only the 4th to ever defend a title in any of the 8 major sports. Celina had a chance late to tie it but a corner kick from the near side missed wide and that was it.
Michael Strong became the 4th ever San Antonio area head coach to repeat a UIL state title in a major sport joining 3 legends in Cliff Gustafson (South San baseball), D.W. Rutledge (Converse Judson football) and Patti Zenner (2 3-peats at Poth volleyball).
It didn’t start well early for the Greyhounds. Celina drew a foul in the penalty area on Brian Fernandez in the 8th minute and Seth Brown converted the kick to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead 8 minutes in. Just like in Wednesday’s come back win over Stafford, Boerne responded. In the 25th minute Landon Murphy bent his corner kick set piece perfectly around and into the net to tie the match at 1. All the spectators thought Sam Theiss, who had the 4th boys hat trick in a boys soccer semi or final on Wednesday, scored but he missed the ball. So did the Celina goal keeper.
It stayed 1-1 into extra time though Boerne’s Brian Fernandez nearly ended it but his shot from 50 yards hit the post as regulation expired.
In the 84th minute Theiss attacked into the penalty area but this time Celina found him. Brian Gasca took him down which drew a 2nd yellow card on him, an ejection and a penalty kick. PKs in state finals in recent years befuddled San Antonio schools Reagan and LEE. It didn’t befuddle Gonzalez who beat the keeper for the state winning goal. Playing the final 16 minutes down a man gave Celina little chance to come back and they did not.
In addition to all the history made, Boerne became the 1st soccer team to trail in both the semis and finals and win the title since 2000 when Wichita Falls Rider pulled the feat. Ironically each of those teams scored 7 straight goals in the match they trailed in. Rider’s was in the final, Boerne’s in the semis.
Now Michael Strong will have a chance to join Zenner as the only San Antonio area head coaches to 3-peat in a major sport next year.
Notes:
- There have been several repeats in the non-major sports such as Bandera girls cross country from 2014-17 and Converse Judson girls track and field in 2014 and 2015.
- The last boys soccer final that saw the trailing team come back to win was the 2013 6A final when Coppell scored in the 77th minute and in the 90th minute of extra time to beat Brownsville Hanna 3-2 in ET.
- The last team to trail 1-0 in a boys soccer final and win was the 2010 5a final when Frisco Wakeland beat Humble Kingwood Park 3-2 in ET.
SCORING SUMMARY
1.
7:08
CELINA-B
Seth Brown
Penalty kick
2.
25:07 BOERNE-B Joe Ballenger Corner kick
Corner kick goes through crowd to back post.
3.
85:08
BOERNE-B
Jess Gonzales
Penalty kick
CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS
BOERNE-B
#3
Brian Fernandez
Yellow card
7:08
CELINA-B
#8
Brian Gasca
Yellow card
46:18
BOERNE-B
#14
Sam Theiss
Yellow card
59:02
CELINA-B
#8
Brian Gasca
Red card
85:08
BOERNE-B
#8
Bear Kelly
Yellow card
96:34
2024 Boerne state final • San Elizario Outlasts ...
#boerne #txhssoccer