By Michael Adams
Austin Sports Journal
When the Austin Achieve boys soccer team steps on the field Thursday in the UIL Class 4A Division II boys soccer state championship will have already made history.
The Polar Bears (22-4-1) take on Gainesville (18-3-3) at Birkelbach Stadium in Georgetown. They will be the first team in any sport from Austin Achieve High School to play for a state championship.
Winning it all would just be the best ending for a storybook season for the charter school in east Austin.
Head coach Greta Kwedar has been with the program since its humble beginnings in 2018.
The former Texas Longhorn knows a thing about being a winner. She helped the women’s soccer team win the Big 12 Conference championships in 2006 and 2007.
She’s hoping she can lead her 12 seniors to another championship.
“To get this far after a few years of competing in UIL is really amazing,” Kwedar said. “It’s been very special for a number of reasons. For one, some of the kids that were on my first team, I’m now coaching some of their siblings that are on the team this year, so that’s a really cool cycle.
“And for our school, there’s so much excitement around our building. Everyone is so excited to go to the game and cheer these guys on. The school pride has really grown because of this experience.”
While just playing in the state championship is an accomplishment in and of itself, it’s not the only record Austin Achieve has set this season.
The Polar Bears’ 22 wins is the most in the program’s history. Austin Achieve also won their first regional championship and second district championship. Players say it’s their bond and friendships that has been the winning formula for the Polar Bears.
“We’ve been here for four years, so all of us seniors have great chemistry with each other, and it shows on the field,” said senior midfielder Alexis Guillen. “We just have a very good bond with each other, even with the underclassmen.”
The bond has been the strength for Austin Achieve all season, including when the Polar Bears fell behind against Corpus Christi London in the regional semifinals.
“This is a big class and they hold each other accountable, which they’ve been doing since their freshman year,” Kwedar said. “I’ve coached teams where the fight in the players wasn’t there, but with this team, sometimes I’m like, ‘I need you to bring it down a bit.’… We went down 1-0 to London, who was a very good team, and I just knew in that game, they were going to fight back, and they did.”
Austin Achieve will write its final chapter of its storybook season Thursday afternoon. Hopefully, it will have a happy ending. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
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