Tuesday’s contest between the Boerne Champion and Boerne High boys soccer teams was their first meeting since 2013 and while some coaches might want to take a low-key approach to their first meeting in 12 years, that wasn’t the case with Greyhounds coach Michael Strong.
Strong said he preferred the opposite approach and wanted to hype it up as much as possible.
“Some coach told me, ‘don’t build it up,’ but I built it up, it’s a huge deal. It’s the first time we’ve played them in ages,” he said. “I built all of it up, I wanted them to be excited for the game, to go out there and play their tails off and they did.”
The approach seemed to work for the Greyhounds after they defeated the Chargers 1-0.
It’s their first win against Champion in the series that included eight meetings between 2010-13.
Chargers coach Dustin Gold said it played out like he figured it would – a defensive struggle between two friendly rivals.
“A rivalry is always going to be a battle; the teams are going to get up for that. They’re going to play their best and everything is going to be contested,” he said. “They’ve grown up playing with and against each other in club and middle school soccer. They know each other well and there’s a lot of pride on the line. You saw a lot of that, they go hard but they also respect each other.”
The Greyhounds scored early and then held off the Chargers in Tuesday’s contest that turned into the Fog Bowl as soupy weather conditions made it hard to see parts of the field clearly.
Austin Vecino tallied the lone goal Tuesday night off the Liam Griffiths assist for the Hounds midway through the first half.
Champion is still looking for its first win of the year and Gold said he’s confident it’ll come soon.
“Some of our results in this tough district we’re in are nothing to hang our head about. We’ve just got to continue to work and improve,” he said. “We have a lot of talented boys in our program and they’re right there with everyone and we know they’re capable.”
Strong faced his alma mater Friday, Alamo Heights, and said it’s been an emotional week playing the Chargers and the Mules a few days apart.
“This week is a crazy one, I’m really excited to play Heights,” he said. They’re doing phenomenal, it’s going to be a tough game but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Champion is 0-4-5 overall and 0-0-4 in district. They visited Pieper Friday and host New Braunfels Tuesday.
For the Greyhounds, it’s their 51st district game without a loss. Boerne is 6-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in district. BHS hosted Alamo Heights Friday and is off Tuesday.
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