The Champion boys soccer team has been playing well lately, especially in the second round of district, and their elevated play has resulted in the Chargers clinching a playoff spot in 26-5A.
Champion locked up a postseason spot Tuesday afternoon at home after defeating Wagner, 8-1. Pieper’s win over Boerne High on Tuesday ended up helping the Chargers.
Champion is 9-6 in district (12-8 overall) and closed out the regular season Friday at home against Kerrville Tivy.
At one point this season, Champion was 2-4 in district play but has gone 7-2 since.
Chargers coach Dustin Gold said they needed time to gel, and they did.
“We had a new team as far as some of the guys playing with each other and guys who hadn’t been able to play for our high school program in the last few years. We had to incorporate everybody back into the mix,” he said. “We knew we had a lot of talent and ability and worked hard. We knew it would come together at some point, and we were excited when it did. I think we’ve really improved in the second round of district with some strong performances and some big wins.”
Gold said nobody panicked after their slow start and the team responded by winning four of their last five matches and seven of their last nine going back to the first round.
“We were in every game, so there was no reason for our team to hang their heads or feel like they weren’t capable,” he said. “Seven of the nine programs in this district are strong and the teams are used to winning, and nobody is making it easy for you. There’s a slim margin between making the playoffs and not in this district.”
The Chargers had a couple of players turn in hat tricks on Tuesday after Bryce Knell and Will Hankins tallied 3 goals each, while Diego Flores knocked in 2 goals.
Knell, Flores, Hankins, Jones Ferguson, Carson Flamm and Ethan Souza all finished with assists in the match.
Varsity Girls
The Lady Chargers did what they needed to do on Tuesday by beating Wagner, but they didn’t get the help they needed around the district.
Champion recorded a 6-0 win over Wagner in Tuesday’s match called at the half because of lightning strikes in the area.
However, wins by Boerne High over Pieper and Alamo Heights against New Braunfels eliminated the Chargers from the postseason picture since they had to win and also needed help, but didn’t get the help they needed.
The Lady Chargers improved to 7-7-1 in district (11-8-1 overall) but can’t catch Boerne (8-5-2) and Alamo Heights (8-5-3) in the district where a win is worth 3 points and a tie is worth 1 point.
The Chargers closed out the regular season Friday at Kerrville Tivy.
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