High School

Texas UIL strips Dallas Highland Park boys soccer team of state title; Liberty Hill named champions

Decision from governing body comes after Highland Park self-reported ineligible player was used

Cody Thorn

Liberty Hill head coach Stefano Salerno consoles Zayd Rasheed after losing to Dallas Highland Park at the UIL Soccer State Championships in at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown Friday April 11, 2025.
Liberty Hill head coach Stefano Salerno consoles Zayd Rasheed after losing to Dallas Highland Park at the UIL Soccer State Championships in at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown Friday April 11, 2025. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

More than 6 hours after winning the state championship — Dallas Highland Park vacated the boys' soccer title earned early on April 11.

In a press release issued at 10 p.m., Friday night, the UIL said it received a report from Highland Park about using an ineligible player during its 2-0 win against Liberty Hill in Class 5A Division II finals in Georgetown.

The press release said the school discovered the ineligible player following the state championship — the first for the school in boys' soccer since 1987.

An investigation by the Highland Park administration confirmed the ineligibility.

UIL states the minimum penalty for allowing an ineligible player to participate is forfeit of the contest.

As a result, Liberty Hill wins the state title. 

It is the first state title for the Panthers, a runner-up in 2014 in Class 4A. 

Liberty Hill now finished the year with a 16-8-7 record and won its final 10 games.

At one point this year, the Panthers were 3-6-3. 

Highland Park fell to 20-2–2 with the reversal of the outcome.

This is the second time in less than a week that a big game in Texas was flipped due to an ineligible player. A Class 4A semifinal game was forfeited in favor of Salado due to Progreso using an ineligible player in the quarterfinals and other games.

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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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