CORPUS CHRISTI – Boerne High and Davenport were facing each other for the third time this season when the Lady Hounds and Lady Wolves met in the Region IV-4A championship match in Corpus Christi on Saturday.
And while it may be hard to beat a team three times in a season, the Lady Greyhounds proved that it’s not impossible.
After winning both district matches against Davenport, the Boerne girls did it again on Saturday at Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi when they defeated the Wolves, 1-0, to win the region and advance to the 4A state tournament.
It’s Boerne’s second consecutive regional title and they will play Celina for the second straight year at state.
Boerne (26-2) plays Wednesday morning against Celina (27-0), a team that beat them 3-0 last year. Celina went on to win the state title and is the defending 4A girls champions.
Boerne’s match with Davenport was deadlocked at 0-0 until near the very end. It looked like it might be heading to overtime but with just over a minute left in regulation Boerne struck for a goal.
Katheryn Spiekerman launched a shot from just inside 25 yards. A Davenport backrow defender got a foot on it to slow it down, but the defender slipped and the ball got away from her and rolled to Sophia Harper.
Harper took control of the loose ball and had nobody between her and the Wolves keeper. The sophomore launched a shot to the left corner that blew by the keeper for the 1-0 lead with 1:10 remaining.
Harper was in the right spot at the right time.
“It was a rebound and one of the girls stopped it and she was on the ground and I came and I was one on one with the goalie,” Harper said.
Harper said she’s glad to help the seniors make it to state in their final year of high school soccer.
“It means so much to me because a lot of the girls are seniors and they’ve become a family so it’s really for them,” she said. “I’m just excited to do it with them before they go.”
Boerne coach Jeremy Shannon said he knew Davenport would play them tough.
“We knew it would be a struggle to get shots off. Hats off to them, they played a heck of a game and I’m just glad we came out on the winning end of that,” he said.
Boerne has recorded 4 shutouts in the playoffs and were 10 minutes away from making it 5 shutouts this postseason.
Shannon said it means a lot to win consecutive regional titles.
“It’s big for our program and big for the kids,” he said. “The kids believed we could do it, it’s a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice and time on the field and to come together at the right time is big.”
Vs. Calallen
In order to play Davenport on Saturday, the Lady Hounds had to get past Calallen on Friday, a team they defeated last year at the regional tournament in McAllen.
Last year’s match was close (3-2), but not so much this season after the Boerne girls won 5-0.
BHS had the wind behind them in the first half and scored four of their goals for the 4-0 halftime lead before adding another goal in the second half.
It was cold, wet and windy and there was a weather delay before they could even begin the match. The players lined up for the National Anthem but were pulled off the field once lightening moved into the area and didn’t play until much later in the day.
“With all the rain, the field seemed like it was in pretty good condition,” Shannon said. “It was a good job by our girls, withstanding the lightening and weather delay.”
Kathryn Spiekerman, Hannah Bowen, Taylor Hudson, Sophia Harper and Tommie Rand all scored single goals for the Lady Hounds, while Madeline Davis, Kylie Combs and Hannah Bowen came up with single assists in the match.
Kinsley Sawyer was in goal for both matches at the regional tournament.
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