GEORGETOWN – Good Friday turned into a great Friday for the Boerne High School boys soccer team after the Greyhounds defended its 4A state title at Birkelbach Field. Boerne defeated Celina in the championship game in overtime, 2-1, to claim back-to-back 4A titles.
In his pregame speech to the team, BHS coach Michael Strong told his players they had an opportunity to make it into the record book.
“I told them before the game, ‘You guys are going to go make history today,’” he said.
And they did. Other than cross country, this is the first time a sport in Boerne ISD history has won consecutive team state titles.
BHS ends its year with a 27-2-1 overall record, and one of its players, Noah LeMaster, was named the 4A tournament most valuable player.
LeMaster came up with five saves on some tough shots.
“I just played my game. I spent a lot of time reviewing film and fine-tuning my technique,” LeMaster said. “When it was over, it was pure happiness, being able to scrape and fight through overtime and win.”
Celina, whose girls team won the 4A girls title the day before, drew first blood in Friday’s match after Seth Brown converted a penalty kick in the seventh minute.
The Bobcats held the lead until last year’s tournament MVP, Landon Murphy, helped tie the match in the 25th minute on a corner kick. Murphy’s kick went directly beyond the mass of players in the box and into the back of the net to knot it up at 1-1.
As the play unfolded, it looked like Boerne’s Joe Ballenger might have flicked it with his head, but the official UIL scorer listed it as an unassisted goal for Murphy.
Both teams had six shots in the first half, but things slowed down in the second half as fatigue and the heat took its toll, although the Greyhounds had what would have been the game winner bounce off the right post with less than a minute left in regulation.
Celina didn’t manage a shot in the second half while the Hounds only had three of them, and nobody scored during the final 40 minutes of regulation.
Strong said he felt it was going to be that way in overtime as well.
“I thought it was going to penalty kicks (or a shootout),” he said.
Fortunately, his team proved him wrong.
In overtime, the teams played two 10-minutes halves regardless, and in the first overtime, Sam Theiss pushed the ball up the field on an attack. He drew a foul in the box to give the Greyhounds a penalty kick.
Strong said he always allows Jess Gonzales to take the team’s penalty shots, and Gonzales converted in the 85th minute to give Boerne its first lead at 2-1.
“He hasn’t missed one yet for us, and he’s so cool, calm and collected,” Strong said. “Credit to him for putting it in. That’s a lot of pressure, and he did a phenomenal job.
“It’s the way he takes it – his body is contorted. He plays that mind game really well, and it really throws keepers off.”
Gonzales agreed with his coach and said he throws the keeper off with his body language.
“I lean all the way to the right to make the keeper think I’m going to the right, and last second I open my hip and go the opposite way,” he said. “It gets them the majority of the time. I tried it one time and it worked well, so I just stuck with it.”
The Gonzales goal was the final one of the 2022 season for the Greyhounds, and it also sealed this year’s state championship.
“It’s incredible,” Gonzales said afterward about having the game-winning goal.
Boerne will graduate seniors Jose Martinez, Bryan Fernandez, Landon Murphy, Adrian Cuervo, Juan Castro, Sam Theiss and Justin Moore.
NOTES: It was the Boerne boys fourth appearance at the state soccer tournament (2002, ‘06, ‘21, ‘22) and they’ve won three gold and one silver medal in those four appearance, with the 2002 team finishing second. … BHS boys soccer has passed BHS cross country for the most state titles with three. … The Boerne boys are the only soccer team in the greater San Antonio area to ever win consecutive titles. … In both games at this year’s state tournament, the Greyhounds fell behind 1-0 before winning both matches.
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