Bush boys clinch 20-6A soccer title

The Bush Broncos have become accustomed to playing hard-fought matches this season, and they emerged victorious in another one last week to win a momentous district championship.

The Broncos defeated Clements in penalty kicks Friday night to win its first title of any kind in more than a decade, and its first 20-6A crown since moving into the district.

Friday’s match was the 10th time this season the Broncos (13-5-2, 10-3-1) have been involved in matches where the ending deficit was one goal or less. Bush got its lone goal in regulation from senior Segun Idowu, his team-leading 15th score of the season, while goalkeeper Aiden Yensen-Yee stopped all but one shot against him in both regulation and the shootout.

Bush entered the postseason on a high note, winning eight straight matches to end the regular season following a 3-1 loss to Clements on Feb. 11.

Other boys action

Despite the loss, however, the Rangers are still heading back to the UIL postseason for the first time since 2019 with a final record of 10-9 overall and 9-5 in district play, good for third place in 20-6A. Jacob Fitch scored the lone goal for the Rangers in regulation against Bush, with an assist from Tim Kroon.

The Austin Bulldogs are back in the playoffs for the third straight season following a 6-0 win over Elkins on Friday. Ethan Nguyen had two goals and an assist for the Bulldogs (14-3-2, 9-3-2) to help them clinch 20-6A’s second seed, while Jose Colin scored twice and Kam Cortez dished out three assists.

On the Class 5A front, the Kempner Cougars remained in the driver’s their first district championship since 2018 courtesy of a win over Richmond Foster in penalty kicks on March 9. Sedat Kilicarlas, Emmanuel Rodriguez, and Franklin Hernandez each scored for the Cougars (15-2-1, 12-1-1), who could clinch the title with a win over Hightower on Tuesday.

In Class 4A action, the Stafford Spartans were alone atop the District 24-4A standings entering play this week courtesy of a 6-0 win over Bay City on March 7 and 1-0 victory against Needville on Saturday. Aron Maldonado scored four times and Jonathan Rivas scored twice for the Spartans (13-5-4, 10-1-1) against Bay City, while Maldonado also scored the lone goal against Needville. Ivan Maldonado stopped every shot against him in both matches for Stafford’s third and fourth shutout wins of the season.

Girls

The Clements Lady Rangers are headed to the postseason once again after finishing the regular season strong with two wins last week. Clements (14-6-1, 11-3) finished second in District 20-6A thanks to a 1-0 win over Austin on March 9 followed by a 6-1 victory over Bush on March 11.

Daisy Muddimer, Elly Jiang, and Kassidy Isaacson each tallied a goal and an assist against Bush. Allison Wang scored the game winner against Austin, while goalkeeper Arwen Bac helped the Lady Rangers secure their 10th shutout win of the year.

Elkins’ Lady Knights are postseason-bound once more after winning its final two regular season matches. The Lady Knights downed Travis 1-0 on March 8, then defeated Austin by the same score in the regular season finale March 11 to clinch their spot. Madison Innes scored the lone goal for Elkins (14-7-1, 8-5-1) against Travis, while goaltender Ashley Arnold pitched back-to-back shutouts.

The Lady Bulldogs missed the playoffs, but got a couple of standout performances last week nonetheless. Madison McCoy scored four times in a 6-2 win over Dulles on March 8 to finish with a team-leading 18 goals, while Gabby De Jesus had a goal and two assists. Austin finished the season 10-9-3 overall and 6-5-3 in district play.