Varsity Soccer Heads to State Final

Sebastian Bingaman, Staff Reporter

It’s been a long road for the boys varsity soccer team, who is now preparing to play for a state championship on Saturday, April 16th in Georgetown, Texas. 

The Volunteers have been looking for the glory of a state title for a while. In 2019, they fell 4-1 in PKs in a heartbreaking loss in the state final, and in 2020 they went undefeated but the season was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic. This year however, as winners of 22 straight games and an overall season  scorecard of 27-1, they feel confident. 

“Well, I’m a sophomore on varsity so that feels great, it’s nice to represent the underclassmen and overall to get to compete at the highest level there is in high school. We’re ready to go,” said Christian Chandler, center midfielder. 

Tonight they will face off against Rockwall-Heath, who has struggled with consistency this season. They have had some rough stretches, like an abysmal 7 game stretch from February 26th to March 22nd, where they went 0-4-3. Right now however, they are winners of 6 straight after upsetting Allen on Tuesday. 

Prior to the Volunteers’ win over Jersey Village on Tuesday, Davis Kelley, a right back on the team, said, “I’m feeling pretty good, I have a feeling it’s going to be a great game like the last five have been. It’s going to be a battle like Lake Travis. I have a feeling that we will pull together and end up at the state final, just like we were two years ago. We’re part of something bigger than ourselves here, we’re part of the last three years and LEE’s culture of winning.” 

Lake Travis was a battle, and the Volunteers toughest test this year. They needed to win to go to state, and it came down to a walkoff PK on their way to a 1-1 (4-3 PK) win. 

The state final against Rockwall-Heath begins at 6 p.m. and will be available for streaming on Texan Live and UIL Streaming.