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Texas High School Soccer Championship Day 1 Recap: Celina girls win 5th in a row

Jared Contreras records hat trick to lift Bridgeport to 1st-ever state championship
Cody Thorn|
Celina's Ryleigh Stifflemire was named the MVP of the Class 4A Division 1 championship game on Thursday.
Celina's Ryleigh Stifflemire was named the MVP of the Class 4A Division 1 championship game on Thursday. | Shane Kirkpatrick

An own goal helped Celina win state championship No. 5 on Thursday in the Class 4A Division 1 girls' finals.

That happened in the first of four games at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown.

Here’s a recap of the four finals. Four more finals are on tap Friday and Saturday.

Class 4A Division 1 Girls

Celina 2, Salado 1

Ryleigh Stifflemire scored the game-winning goal for the Bobcats, in a way, in the 68th minute.

The uncommitted senior got a pass from Cate De Moor and then tried to cross the ball across the box. It hit a Salado player and went into the goal.

Stifflemire, the MVP of the game, had a marker in the 49th minute for the Bobcats (26-1-1-) as well.

The contest was scoreless after 40 minutes.

Salado went up 1-0 on a goal from Lucy Johnson, with a helper from Cassidy Lange, in the 42nd minute.

Salado finished the year 27-2 and saw a 25-game winning streak end.

Celina had won titles five times now in its six appearances in the final four.

This year ended with them winning 22 in a row.

Senior Emme Norman had two saves in the win for Celina. The Bobcats had a 14 to 3 advantage in shots.

4A Division 1 Boys

Waco La Vega 1, Lake Dallas 0

In a showdown of first-time finalists, Waco La Vega took home a state title in the second game on Thursday.

The lone marker for the Pirates came from Angel Cervantes Calvillo in the 43rd minute. Dovanny Morales provided the assist on the play.

The Pirates won their last 24 games this year.

Alex Zaleta Rubio got the shutout and a win in goal for La Vega. His counterpart, Lanz Lavina, had three saves. Here’s a video of one of his saves.

Lake Dallas’ penchant for close games in the postseason came to an end on the wrong side.

In five wins to get to the finals, the Falcons had won the previous five games by one — 1-0, 2-1, 4-3, 2-1 and a 1-1 shootout win over Stephenville.

The Falcons making the finals was probably hard to picture early in the year. From the season opener on Jan. 6 to Feb. 17, Lake Dallas was 1-6-5.

Class 4A Division 2 Girls

Wimberley 3, Sunnvyale 1

A year after a heartbreaking loss in the finals, Wimberley took home the school’s first girls soccer title.

The Lady Texans score twice in the second half and beat the Lady Raiders.

Wimberley (25-2-1) took a 1-0 lead only 6 minutes into the game on a goal by sophomore midfielder Emma Durkin, curling the ball around a Sunnyvale wall.

Her twin, Abby, scored on an unassisted goal in the 54th minute.

A penalty kick by Macy Martin allowed Sunnyvale to pull within 2-1 in the 58th minute.

Ten minutes later, the Lady Texans added a cushion to the lead on a goal from Samantha Santana. Dylan Watson provided the assist — the only assist in the game.

Emma Durkin, with 4 shots and 3 shots on goal, was named the MVP.

Last year, the Lady Texans lost 7-6 in a shootout against Canyon Randall for the state title.

Wimberley had a 13 to 7 advantage in shots. The Lady Texans didn’t allow a goal the final 8 games of the season, dating back to a March 3 loss to Fischer Canyon Lake.

Sunnyvale (24-3-1) was playing in its first state finals. The Lady Raiders had won 15 in a row since losing back-to-back games in mid-January.

Class 4A Division 2

Bridgeport 5, Brookshire Royal 2 - OT

Bridgeport scored three times in two overtime periods and secured a title in the late game with a revenge win against Brookshire Royal.

The two teams met back on Jan. 3, with the Falcons beating Bridgeport, 3-1.

The scheduled 6:30 p.m. start didn’t happen due to lightning in the Austin area led to about a two-hour delay.

The game was tied at 2-2 after 80 minutes.

Bridgeport got two goals from Jared Contreras — 91 seconds apart — in the first 10-minute overtime period. The junior scored in the 85th minute on a pass from Jose Iniguez. In the 86th minute, he scored a second straight goal on the bottom left of the goal. Julian Martinez provided the assist on this one.

Going into the second overtime, the second shot in the period was a goal by Xxavier Garza, on a pass from Ernest Mejia, shooting across the box on what was a 3-on-1 attack.

Garza ripped off his jersey and went to celebrate on his sideline with his teammates, which led to a yellow card.

Garza scored twice, but the star of the game was Contreras, who had 3 goals. He was named the MVP of the game, scoring the most goals in the championship two-game series with a goal against Dallas L.G. Pinkston on April 3.

David Durran added two assists as well for the Bulls, who finished 22-3 this year.

A year ago, the Bulls lost in the semifinals to Gainesville. Nine years ago, the Bulls lost in their only previous finals appearance, 4-2, in a shootout to Kilgore.

Royal (28-2-1) led twice in this game.

Jerson Perez scored in the opening minute — on an assist from Armando Majano and Aaron Salgado. Contreras’ first goal, in the 18th minute, tied it.

Perez’s second goal, coming in the 21st, provided the Falcons with their second lead of the contest.

In the 46th minute, Garza’s first goal provided the equalizer. The score didn’t change over the final 34 minutes.

Goalkeeper Habram Medina had a save in the final seconds in regulation — on a shot from Perez — to keep it tied at 2.

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Cody Thorn
CODY THORN

Cody Thorn is a veteran journalist who covers high school sports across the state of Texas and Missouri. He is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has covered sports and news since 1999.

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