Hudson Vickery’s goal came early and from long range. Kailey Stringfellow’s goal was from a little closer in and occurred much later.

The respective game-winners helped Boerne High School’s soccer teams win their UIL Class 4A state semifinal matches on Wednesday at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown.

The boys team blanked Kilgore 1-0, while the girls squad outlasted Salado 2-1 in overtime.

The Boerne girls will play two-time defending state champion Celina (25-1-2), a 3-1 winner vs. Lumberton in the other semifinal, for the state title at 2:30 p.m. Thursday. It will be the third straight season the teams will square off at the state tournament.

The boys will face San Elizario (23-3), which nipped Navasota 1-0 on a late penalty kick in overtime, in the state final at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

With the victories, Boerne joined Reagan (2002, 2004) and Churchill (1998) as the only San Antonio-area schools to have both their boys and girls teams play for a state championship in the same season.

The Greyhounds (23-1-3) also became the first San Antonio-area girls team to win at the state tournament since 2017, when they topped Jasper 2-1.

Stringfellow’s goal came in the waning moments of the first of two mandatory 10-minute overtime periods. Avery Ukeiley scored the other goal only 8 1/2 minutes into the contest.

Shelby Hollywood scored on a 30-yard shot that hit off the left post and redirected into the goal for the lone score for Salado (31-2), which has lost to Boerne three times in the playoffs in the past nine completed seasons. The Eagles also lost in the regional final in 2015 and 2017.

Hollywood’s goal was the first allowed by Boerne in 574 minutes and 36 seconds, spanning six games dating back to the Greyhounds’ regular-season finale vs. Wimberley and five-plus postseason matches.

The Boerne boys used a formula that has worked all season — an opportunistic offense and stingy defense. Vickery scored on a 57-yard free kick just 14 minutes into play and the score held up, allowing the Greyhounds (23-0) to equal the 2021 Southwest squad for the best start in San Antonio-area boys history.

Boerne has advanced to the state final in all five of its appearances at the state tournament, winning crowns in 2006, 2021 and 2022 and falling to Waco Midway 1-0 in 2002.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1