From his vantage point along a sideline on an overcast Saturday afternoon at Comalander Stadium, LEE boys soccer coach David Rogers could take it all in.
Rogers could see come to fruition the possibilities he envisioned when he was hired six years ago as the Volunteers’ new coach and was tasked with turning around a once-proud program that had lost its footing and was mired in four straight losing seasons.
“I think it took a while to kind of buy into our philosophy,” Rogers said.
But once the Volunteers figured things out, they’ve been flying high ever since. National rankings and a state title are now tangible expectations, when simply hoping to advance to the postseason had become the norm.
What transpired in a District 28-6A showdown on Saturday confirmed as much.
Dante Valencia scored two goals and Christian Chandler and Gavin Seesholtz each added one apiece as LEE popped Churchill 4-1.
The Volunteers (14-1 overall, 9-0 in district) moved into sole possession of first place in 28-6A. Churchill (11-2-2, 8-1-1) dropped to second.
“Every time we come in here, it’s a battle,” LEE senior goalkeeper Joey Batrouni said. “We always have a target on our backs, being No. 1 in district. We always go out and play to the best of our ability.”
The Volunteers’ latest prime performance was highlighted by a dominant first 12 minutes of the second half that produced three goals and broke open what was a 1-0 advantage at the intermission.
Valencia sandwiched his two goals around one from Seesholtz as LEE quickly took control. Chandler had two assists and Gio Garcia and Jonathan Facio tallied one each.
“They understand the possession part of the game a lot better,” Rogers said after his team remained unbeaten in its last 35 district matches (33-0-2) since 2019. “Early on, it was all in attack mode, and now we know when to slow the game down. We’re going to drop the ball and recycle it a lot, and then bring it forward. That’s something that we’re really good at.”
Churchill avoided being shutout in the 58th minute when Jared Lucio converted on a penalty kick after LEE was called for a foul inside the penalty area, just sneaking a shot past the reach of Batrouni, who guessed correctly on the attempt.
“We’ve kept our heads in the game and fought every year to make our team what it is,” said Batrouni, who had seven saves before leaving with five minutes remaining. “We’re pushing through and it’s looking promising this year. We want to be at the state championship like we were two years ago. We know what it takes to get there, and we can get there.”

Central Catholic 5, Houston St. Thomas 3: Erik Alvarado scored three goals and Carlos Melo and Diego Guajardo each tallied one as the four-time defending TAPPS Division I state champion Buttons prevailed in a high-scoring affair.
Central Catholic advanced to the state semifinals for the fifth straight season and will face Beaumont Kelly, which defeated San Antonio Christian 4-2 in a regional final.
Jett Malone added three assists for the Buttons (10-3-1).

TMI 3, Brownsville St. Joseph 0: In Corpus Christi, Patricio Parra notched three first-half goals as the Panthers moved a step closer to their third straight TAPPS D-II state championship.
TMI (17-2), which will play Houston Lutheran South in the semifinals, received assists from Simon Rupe, Cristobal Parra and Andre Lopez.

Schertz John Paul 5, Cypress Christian 1: The Guardians had little trouble en route to capturing a win in a TAPPS D-III regional final. Schertz John Paul faces Houston St. Thomas Episcopal in the state semifinals.

Girls
Antonian 2, Houston St. Pius X 0: Emily Lozano and Chloe Salsedo each registered a goal as the Apaches advanced to the TAPPS D-I state semifinals for the second year in a row. Grace Loehr had an assist, and goalkeeper Alaina Gilbert recorded a shutout.
Antonian will next take on defending state champion Houston St. Agnes, which blanked Tomball Concordia Lutheran 3-0 on Saturday. St. Agnes edged Antonian 1-0 in the semifinals a year ago.

Schertz John Paul 6, Colleyville Covenant 1: The Guardians moved closer to repeating as TAPPS D-III state champion by notching a lopsided victory. Schertz John Paul will meet Cypress Christian in the state semifinals.

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1