Best bets
Boys
Class 6A
LEE: A year after being on the wrong side of a head-to-head tiebreaker and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014 — the season before Coach David Rogers’ arrival — the Volunteers (19-3-1) have the look of a team poised to make a deep run. They won a state crown in 2021, were state finalists in 2019, regional finalists in 2018, regional semifinalists in 2023 and were favored to win state in 2020 before the season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rogers, who earlier this season collected his 500th career win, has guided LEE, Boerne Champion and Boerne High to state titles and Denton Ryan to the state semifinals. Led by goalkeeper Caleb Gomez and balanced scoring, LEE finished 13-0-1 in District 27-6A, with the lone blemish being a 2-2 draw vs. Reagan.

Class 5A
Southwest: After years of dominant regular seasons that didn’t yield the desired outcome during the postseason, the Dragons got a long-awaited breakthrough in 2025 by advancing to the Class 5A Division I state final. They came up agonizingly short in that contest, losing to Prosper Walnut Grove 2-1 in overtime. After beginning this year with a 3-1 setback vs. Laredo United and a 3-3 draw vs. Clark in the first six games, Coach Juan Romero and Southwest (20-1-2) have found a groove. They head into the postseason fresh off a 2-2 tie vs. Austin Westlake and look to get back to Georgetown and secure a state crown. Luis Perez and Alfredo Plascencia both have tallied 17 goals apiece to spearhead a potent attack, while goalkeeper Emiliano Romo has more than 100 saves and conceded only 17 goals in 22 matches.

Class 4A
La Vernia: The Bears have been close to getting over the hump and earning a spot on the sport’s largest stage. They’ve lost in the regional semifinals the past two seasons, falling to Progreso 4-2 in 2024 and 3-2 last year after holding a 2-0 advantage. La Vernia, which opens the playoffs with a first-round meeting at Somerset at 7 p.m. Friday, takes another crack at it. Goalkeeper Lane Green leads the way.

Girls
Class 6A
Clark: On the 25th anniversary of becoming the first and only Northside ISD team (boys and girls) to advance to the UIL state tournament, this version of the Cougars shares a similar makeup. In 2001, legendary coach Liz Sandoval guided Clark to the state semifinals behind the play of goalkeeper Shira Leffel, defender Diana Plaisted, midfielder Crystal Lopez and forward Mary Reed before falling to eventual state champion Plano West. In the regional final that year, the Cougars outlasted O’Connor in a 35-yard shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 draw through regulation and overtime. The teams will square off in the first round this year at 7 p.m. Friday at Comalander Stadium.
Coach Diana Driggers’ squad this season has ridden the play of goalkeeper Avery Palmer, defenders Reese Adams and Shalon Roberts, midfielder Adeleine DeArmond and forward Leona King to a District 27-6A championship. More could be in the store.

Class 5A
Smithson Valley: The undefeated Rangers (23-0-0) are odds-on favorites to make it to at least the state semifinals for the third time in four seasons. They made it to the Final Four in 2023 and 2025, losing heartbreakers each time to the eventual state champion. Smithson Valley went undefeated in the regular season of both of those campaigns.

Class 4A
Canyon Lake: Paced by speedy and high-scoring forward Savanna Oberholtzer, the Hawks (19-2) aim to take another step a year after making their deepest venture in the playoffs. A Stephen F. Austin signee, Oberholtzer has solid teammates around her in forward Bella Biasatti and midfielder Kylee Morrow, who was injured during last year’s run to the regional semifinals. The experience from last year, plus the postseason chops of Coach Kara Stracener, who earlier this season notched her 200th career win and previously led Johnson to its first district title and a state-tournament berth in 2013 and was an assistant coach (she guided the squad for a key portion of the season when head coach Ashley Garrison was on maternity leave) when Johnson made it to the state tournament in 2011, could be crucial.
Canyon Lake hosts Liberty Hill Legacy Ranch (17-3-1) in a Class 4A Division II bidistrict affair at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Don’t sleep on them
Boys
Class 6A
Reagan: A few weeks ago, the Rattlers were in first place in District 27-6A and prepping for a looming showdown with LEE for the top spot. But a 0-1-3 stretch squashed aspirations for a league title. Reagan, which rode a tough defense — allowed 21 goals in 26 games — and an opportunistic offense to success for most of the season, might have regained its form. The Rattlers have scored three goals in each of their past two matches.
With Coach Gilbert Villareal on the sidelines — he led Reagan to the state final in 2018 and five other regional-tournament appearances — the Rattlers are a threat at this time of the year.

Class 5A
Pieper: It’s kind of hard to quantify that a three-time district champion isn’t receiving top billing. That’s what happens, though, when one is in the same classification as Southwest. Keep in mind, however, that a year ago Pieper was tied 3-3 at halftime in a second-round matchup with the Dragons. Southwest scored three unanswered goals in the second half to pull away for a 6-3 win. Division I goalkeeper Nolan Masker, Blake Dildy, Dominic Tondre, Cooper Adkins and Parker Adkins headline the Warriors’ key returnees from 2025.

Class 4A
Davenport: The Wolves got a taste of big-time playoff soccer a year ago by advancing to the regional semifinals before coming up short 3-1 vs. Hidalgo in Corpus Christi. The game was tied at 1-1 late in the first half before Hidalgo added two unanswered goals to prevail. Davenport finished in second place in District 26-4A, edging out 2025 regional finalist Fredericksburg via a 4-3 win in the teams’ final regular-season contest.

Girls
Class 6A
Steele: Almost clandestinely, the Knights marched to the title in District 29-6A, which a year ago saw New Braunfels Canyon and Buda Johnson advance to the regional semifinals. Division I forward Londyn Johnson, Brooklyn Cisek, Gabriella Ortiz, Kayla Minor and Lexi Brown provide a spark for Steele (16-2-1), which has lost only once since a season-opening setback vs. Smithson Valley, and went 10-0-1 (with eight shutouts) in its final 11 outings to conclude the regular season.

Class 5A
Southwest: The Dragons captured another district crown, their fifth in the past six seasons and seventh in the last 10 completed seasons. Like their male counterparts a year ago, they look to turn regular-season success into a postseason reward. With Jocelyn Rose (27 goals, 10 assists), Gizellle Fierro (25 goals, 16 assists) and Arylynne Sanchez and Natalie Leon (13 goals each) leading an attack that has produced 1-7 goals, Southwest looks to be formidable. The Dragons (22-2-1) open the Class 5A Division I playoffs at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at home vs. Seguin, which is in the playoffs for the second straight season. In 2025, the Matadors qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the program’s 30-year history.

Class 4A
Davenport: A state finalist a year ago, falling to Celina 2-1 in the Division I finale, the Wolves lost key players such as Rylee Reisdorph and Logan Strong to graduation but have rebounded after some ups and downs to gain momentum headed into the postseason. Davenport defeated Canyon Lake 2-1 in both teams’ district finale, prevailing on Abigail Symon’s penalty kick.

Key matchups
Boys
Pleasanton’s offense vs. Cole’s offense: Two teams with high-scoring attacks face off in a Class 4A Division II contest at 7 p.m. Friday at Cole. Pleasanton, led by junior forward Julen Martinez Goni, has racked up 113 goals this season. Freshman Lexi Kitson leads Cole, which has netted 81 goals, with 22 goals and 19 assists. He twice has scored five goals in a match this season.

Girls
Medina Valley goalkeeper Trinity Pinto vs. Clemens’ attack: A senior, Pinto has registered more than 300 career saves, including 100 this season. She has yielded only three goals this season (0.18 goals-against average) for Medina Valley (23-0-1), which last year advanced to the regional semifinals for its deepest playoff journey. The Panthers could get a stiff test right off the bat when they face Clemens in a Class 6A Division II bidistrict match at 7 p.m. Friday at Lehnhoff Stadium. The Buffaloes are paced by freshman Mikaela Griffin (45 goals), Arabella Briggs (23 goals, 12 assists), Isabella Serna (17 assists) and Erica Durland (11 assists, nine goals).

Players to watch
Boys
Darwin Rodriguez, Churchill: The junior forward is a walking hat trick waiting to happen, netting 34 goals. The total is among the best in the storied history of the Chargers, who are four-time state champions and are in the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

Caleb Barajas, Southwest: A senior midfielder, he hasn’t skipped a beat after scoring 32 goals and helping power the Dragons to their first UIL state-tournament appearance a year ago. He has 25 goals to lead another potent attack for the Dragons, who garnered their eighth straight league crown.

Braylon Jernigan, Reagan: The senior defender, who is signed with Division I San Francisco, headlines a backline that has recorded 13 shutouts in 26 games. He was the District 27-6A MVP a year ago and is also a threat on corner and free kicks.

Aiden Jackson, Harlan: The sophomore is a threat anytime he has the ball to either score or set up goals. He has recorded several games this season where he had either multiple goals or assists for the Hawks (15-4-3), who are seeking their fourth trip to the regional semifinals in six seasons. They also made it in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

Julen Martinez Goni, Pleasanton: The junior midfielder/forward has produced 35 goals and 15 assists this season for the district championship-winning Eagles. He has two games in which he scored four goals and five games in which he tallied three goals.

Girls
Nyalah Reeves, Jay: A Texas-El Paso signee, she is the program’s all-time leader in goals (95). She has 63 goals this season, becoming only the seventh San Antonio-area player in UIL history to accomplish the feat. The Mustangs, who take on Edison at 7 p.m. Friday at San Antonio ISD Complex, are in the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. A year ago, they won their first-ever district championship.

Addie Brown, Johnson: The senior goalkeeper, a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi signee, is in her fourth season on varsity and was an integral part of three district title-winning squads. She spearheads a defense that has allowed 15 goals in 22 games and racked up 11 shutouts. The Jaguars (15-4-3) have shutouts vs. playoff-bound teams Reagan, Clark, New Braunfels and Taft.
Brown’s next task will be trying to slow down District 28-6A champion Warren (18-1-1), which has posted 71 goals and is led by senior forward Chloe Lombard.

Reagan Mecke, La Vernia: The sophomore forward needed less than two seasons to score 100 career goals. As a freshman in 2025, she tallied 52 goals — believed to be the most by a San Antonio-area freshman in the 44-year history of UIL girls soccer — as the Bears advanced to the regional finals before falling to state finalist Davenport.

Mikayla Cunningham, Alamo Heights: The junior midfielder, who is committed to Clemson, has helped lead the Mules to the postseason after missing out last year for the first time in nearly 20 seasons. Alamo Heights won two of its final three matches to finish tied with Boerne for fourth place in District 26-5A, advancing thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Alejandra Davis, Taft: The midfielder/forward, a St. Mary’s signee, has helped the Raiders to two regional tournaments in her pervious three seasons on varsity. Despite losses to graduation and injuries, she has been instrumental in the team’s late-season surge with 24 goals and 15 assists. She had four goals and an assist in a 5-2 win vs. O’Connor to conclude the regular season.

terrence@terrencesports.com
X: @sa_terrence1