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DFW Teams have a chance to sweep UIL Soccer State Finals
The Dallas-Fort Worth area has long been known to be dominant in all areas of Texas High School sports. If you want to watch some of the best high school competition in the nation, you know you're going to get some quality athleticism out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With top-notch programs, the DFW area is well-represented at the soccer UIL state championship games. Dallas-Fort Worth is well represented with a chance to bring home state titles in all six of the state games happening between Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17.
Midlothian Heritage Girls at State:
Girls 4A-6A begins Friday morning at 10 a.m. with a 4A showdown between Midlothian Heritage and Corpus Christi Calallen. Midlothian Heritage has fought hard to get to the state tournament, only losing one game all season in a non-district match-up against Fort Worth Nolan Catholic. The Lady Jaguars have outscored their opponents by 124 goals on the season and there's no reason to suspect that a title game will be any slower for the team.
Frisco Wakeland Girls at State:
At 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Frisco Wakeland is facing off against Dripping Springs in the 5A State Final. Wakeland has posted an 86% win percentage on the year with a 20-2-3 overall record. On a 13 game win streak after defeating Grapevine 3-2 in order to advance to the championship match, the Wolverines are going to be a tough squad to squander.
Flower Mound Girls at State:
Joe Lorenzini
The last match of championship Friday will feature a strong Lewisville Flower Mound team versus Austin Vandegrift. The strong Flower Mound squad has posted a 22-1-2 overall record with a 92% win percentage this season. After a first place finish in district, the Lady Jaguars have kept rolling, defeating every team standing in their way of a state title. Flower Mound can be expected to start strong and stay strong throughout the entirety of the match.
Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis Boys at State:
The boys' championship games get started on Saturday morning with a 4A finals match-up featuring Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis and Boerne. The Eagles finished first in their district and are currently on a 19 game win streak after defeating Celina in a hard-fought 4-2 win to advance to the state title game. The Eagles have shown fight all season and should play consistently against Boerne.
Frisco Wakeland Boys at State:
The second game Saturday, fans will see Frisco Wakeland represented again as the boys enter the 5A Boys Finals. The Wolverines have posted a 94% win percentage with a 23-1-1 overall record on the season. Outscoring their opponents by 64 goals, the Wolverines can be expected to utilize their defense while trusting their offense on Saturday.
Rockwall-Heath Boys at State:
The final match of the UIL State Championship games will showcase a great Rockwall Heath squad. The Hawks will face off against San Antonio Lee in the boys 6A Finals. Rockwall-Heath has fought all season to prove that they belong among the best in the state. After a big win over Allen to advance to the state game, the Hawks will have to channel the energy they have used all season to bring home some hardware. The Hawks have posted a 15-8-5 record overall and should be expected to play with urgency against San Antonio Lee.
Frisco Wakeland Looks to Double-Up...Again
For the second time in four years – three if you do not count the cancelled 2020 playoffs – Frisco Wakeland has both its boys and girls soccer teams in the state championship.
Back in 2018, both teams took home the gold medals and the State Championship trophy to display in the Wakeland High School trophy case.
According to the UIL archives, which date back to 1983, there have been only two instances of one school winning both the girls and boys state title – 1983 by Richardson and 2018 by Wakeland. Now four years later, Wakeland has the chance to do it again.
In total, the Wakeland programs own a combined five state titles with the girls having won two (2011 and 2018) and the boys three (2010, 2017, and 2018).
Naturally, the recent level of success the programs have experienced brings a bit of healthy competition amongst the players.
But as Wakeland's girls head coach Jimmie Lankford mentioned, the players on both sides are very supportive of each other.
"When they get the chance, [the girls team] will get back from their game and go watch [the boys] and the other way around," Lankford said.
Boys head coach Andrew Holt expressed the same sentiment regarding the support yet competitive spirit these deep runs have created between the two teams.
"Both programs support each other and try to go to as many games as possible to support each other," Holt said. "I definitely think the competition is there to try to outdo each other, but ultimately, we want both teams to win."
As for the success Wakeland soccer has enjoyed over the years, both coaches attribute it to the foundation set by previous teams and that work ethic permeating throughout the program.
"We have a JV team that hasn't lost in like six years" Lankford said. "It starts at the middle school level and continues on up."
"At Wakeland we have a goal every year to be able to play in the State Championship for a shot to win it all," Holt added. "The talent and work ethic must match those goals.
"We have a lot of talented players at Wakeland, but what makes the team and program special is their work ethic and desire to be great. The standard has been set by so many players and teams before us at Wakeland and we want to keep that tradition going."
It comes down to just one game for both teams. The boys team faces a stout Humble Kingwood Park that is looking for its first state title in its third championship appearance - the second against Wakeland.
The two teams met in the 2010 4A State Finals with Wakeland winning 3-2 on a 2-0 shootout win.
"We are looking strong and hungry heading into Saturday," Holt said. "We are excited to be able to play for a State Championship. I believe the guys are ready for the moment and will be very eager for Saturday to get here."
As for the girls team, it faces a Dripping Springs team that is also in its third championship game and looking for state title No. 1. It fell in the 5A title game to Highland Park in 2019.
"We've had a couple of tough games recently in the Regional Finals and State Semifinals," Lankford said. "We're looking good. I think our team is ready. We're nursing some injuries right now, but we should be ready to play hard [on Friday]."