The UIL state soccer tournament kicks off Wednesday and continues until Saturday at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown.

Three area teams — Boerne Champion girls in Class 5A and Boerne High boys and girls squads in 4A — are only two wins from capturing the ultimate prize. Both Boerne teams play state semifinal contests on Wednesday, while Champion gets going on Thursday.

Here are a few things to watch for:

Will it be a sweet repeat for Boerne’s boys?
If there was supposed to be a hangover from winning the UIL Class 4A state championship a year ago, apparently the Greyhounds didn’t get the memo. Outside of a small stumble to begin the season, Boerne has been downright unstoppable.

With a solid core returning from a year ago, the Greyhounds enter the state tournament as the favorite to repeat. They would become the first area team to win back-to-back state titles.

Boerne (25-2-1) has won 17 in a row and is unbeaten in its past 25 matches (24-0-1) since losing to Fort Worth Arlington Heights and host Alamo Heights at the Bruce Fink Invitational on Jan. 7 and Jan. 8, respectively.

The Greyhounds’ next test is Houston Stafford (20-5-4) at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The Spartans, who are at the state tournament for the first time, shook off a 2-4-2 start to earn a spot on this stage. They’ve displayed a flair for the dramatic recently, winning two of their past three playoff games in penalty kicks and the other by a goal.

Can Boerne’s girls slow down high-scoring Celina?
For as much offensive firepower as they possess themselves, a case could be made that a big key for why the Greyhounds are at the state tournament has been the play of the defense. Boerne has yielded 36 goals in 28 games this season, including only three in five playoffs.

The Greyhounds will need to display their defensive chops when they take on Celina (27-1-1), a state semifinalist a year ago, at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Celina has scored 174 goals (6.1 per game), including 37 in five postseason contests (7.4 per contest). Leading the way is forward Taylor Zdrojewski, a Texas Tech signee who has netted 173 goals in the past two seasons. She had a state-record 114 goals in 2021 and 59 this season. Zdrojewski isn’t the Bobcats’ only scoring threat. She gets plenty of help from Lexi Tuite (29 goals, 18 assists), Mia Norman (12 goals, 20 assists) and Madi Vana (12 goals, 32 assists).

As funny as it might sound, Boerne’s best defense could be its offense. The Greyhounds, who are unbeaten in their last 14 games (13-0-1), have scored 141 goals this season, an average of five per contest. Junior forward Kylie Combs (40 goals, 25 assists), junior forward Hannah Bowen (32 goals, 10 assists), Madeline Davis (18 goals), Gigi Hernandez (15 goals) and A’Marie Ramirez (12 goals) paced a deep and potent attack. Sophomore midfielder Taylor Hudson scored the winning goal with nine minutes left as Boerne edged Corpus Christi Calallen 3-2 in the regional final, avenging a 1-0 overtime loss to Calallen in the regional semifinals in 2021.

What might Boerne Champion do for an encore?
The last time we saw the Chargers, they were celebrating knocking off defending state champion Dripping Springs 2-1 in penalty kicks in the Region IV-5A girls final at Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi.
Champion (20-3-3) now faces Grapevine (21-2-1), which is at the state tournament for the fifth time in the last seven completed seasons, at noon Thursday.

A key component might be how the Chargers respond after a dramatic, high-stake win against Dripping Springs, which was riding a 44-game winning streak. There’s evidence to suggest the Champion will be fine. The team opened the season with a win and two ties against longtime national powers Southlake Carroll and Plano West and defending Class 6A state champion Flower Mound. The experience seemed to pay dividends en route to a 4-0-2 start and a national ranking.

Champion suffered back-to-back losses to Dripping Springs and Alamo Heights, but recovered and is 16-1-1 since. Sophomore forward Mackenzie Arendall (18 goals), junior midfielder Addy Huber (14 goals, 10 assists), senior forward Vivian Garza (nine goals) and senior midfielder Lorenna Garza (eight goals) lead a balanced offense.

Grapevine has also found strength in numbers. Samantha Larsen leads the team with 25 goals. Theresa McCullough (23 goals, 32 assists), Kasten Merrill (14 goals) and Samantha Lumpkin (12 assists) have been key offensive contributors. Goalkeepers Ashley Knight and Addison Williams have combined for 98 saves while allowing only 20 goals in 24 games.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1