Teams from the Dallas area swept the last two girls state tournaments and won 4 of 6 state titles in each of last two years

By Michael Adams
madams@onthesidelinessports.com

Of the 24 teams playing in this weekend’s UIL state soccer tournament in Georgetown, 14 are from the Dallas or Austin areas.

The Dallas area, which has nine teams playing in the state tournament, has dominated it in recent years, especially in the last two. Teams from the metroplex have won four of the six state soccer titles in both 2022 and 2023. In fact, the Dallas area swept all three girls championships in each of those years.

The Austin area has five teams in state semifinals on Thursday and Friday, including three girls teams (Westlake, Hendrickson and Rouse) and two boys teams (Glenn and Vandegrift).

There have been numerous upsets in this year’s state soccer playoffs.

In the Class 6A girls playoffs , Westlake (16-4-2)  entered the postseason as the No. 3 seed out of District 26-6A and pulled off upset after upset, starting with the opening round win over Westwood, which won Region IV-6A a year ago.

The Chaparrals then stunned District 28-6A champion San Antonio Johnson in the area round and knocked out 26-6A runner up Lake Travis in the regional quarterfinals. On Saturday, Westlake handed San Antonio Taft its only loss of the season in the regional finals.

The Chaps will face a Rockwall team that has won three of their five playoff matches by one goal and won Region II in a shootout. The Yellowjackets (21-3-2) are one of three teams in the Class 6A girls field that has played in the state tournaments, which includes Westlake and Katy Seven Lakes (19-3-5).

Prosper (24-2-2) is the only 6A girls team making its tournament debut. None of the four teams have ever won a state soccer championship.

In 5A girls, Austin the Dallas area each have two teams in the field. Rouse is the wildcard in the field and upset No. 1 McAllen Memorial in the Region IV-5A semifinals and rival Leander, ranked No. 7, in the finals.

Rouse (20-4-3) is going to have to find some more of that magic in their semifinal against three-time state champion Frisco Wakeland (24-0-2), scheduled for noon on Thursday. The Raiders are in the state tournament for the first time since 2017.

In the other 5A girls semifinal, scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Hendrickson (21-3-2) will face Colleyville Heritage (23-0-2). The Hawks upset last year’s regional champion Georgetown in the 5A-III final. Hendrickson won the Class 6A state championship in 2017.

In the Class 6A boys semifinals, Vandegrift (22-2-2) is making its first appearance in the state soccer tournament. The Vipers will face Lewisville Flower Mound (22-2-2) at 7:30 p.m., Friday. Flower Mound is making its first appearance since winning the 6A state championship in 2019.

Duncanville (20-3-3) faces the reigning state champion Katy Seven Lakes (23-1-2) in the first 6A boys semifinal at 5 p.m.

The 5A boys tournament features three first-time qualifiers, including Glenn (29-0-1). The Grizzlies will face five-time state champion Frisco Wakeland (18-5-3) at 5 p.m., Thursday. Wakeland has won their last six state semifinal matches and is 7-1 all time in state semifinals.

In the other semifinal at 7:30, Baytown Goose Creek Memorial (21-3-2) faces Midlothian (23-2-3).