The end of each sport’s season provides an opportunity to celebrate the successes of that single season while looking forward to a playoff game or to reflect on the friendships and effort together. The last home game is different altogether. Family, friends and fans gather — not just to cheer on the team for its last home game — but to recognize the senior players and their parents — for their effort and commitment to their teams and their support of the players and the program.
Friday, March 10 at Texan Stadium held a moment of that pageantry for this year’s seniors — Jack Boyle, Aviv Buchenbacher, Brandon Carrillo, Diego Elizondo, Eric Solis and captains Bryce Phillips and Gage Tumlinson — representing 21 years of experience on the pitch for the Texans.
“I mean tonight, it was really all about just coming out and having fun one last time with my blood brothers. We’ve grown so much throughout our four years,” commented Buchenbacher. “It’s my last time playing on this field, and I’ve had a great experience.”
“It’s a sad occasion for me because tonight was the last night on this field. I knew during the football season that I was going to go into soccer season. Now it’s kind of hitting me like, ‘Alright, now this is it,’ so I’m sad,” shared Tumlinson, a special teams standout for the Texans during their run to the football state championship last season.
“I’ve had great coaches, friends and family all around me,” he added. “ It’s been a great year overall.”
Head coach Ramez Antoun also reflected on the end of a season.
“Senior Night is always a sweet yet bittersweet night,” he said. “It’s great as a culmination of four years of work for a lot of these kids. We get to reflect on their growth, recognize and celebrate them, enjoy the parent involvement to connect these kids to where they come from. So, it’s sweet in that nature but bittersweet knowing that this very well could be the last time that I see these guys on this field.”
“I told the guys after the game that ‘long after your playing careers are done here, I’m not gonna remember statistics or that one goal or some specific game; it’s more than just about soccer.’ It’s the bus rides, conversations and jokes in the weight room, time out here on the practice field — the human element — is what I’ll remember out of these kids,” Antoun explained. “There’s a lot of experience graduating in this bunch of kids, and I’m going to miss them on a personal level.”
The Texans put that experience to work against the visiting Great Hearts Northern Oaks Griffins on Friday, March 10. Most of the first half action took place in the Griffin end of the pitch. Buchenbacher got the scoring started quickly, putting the ball in the net at the 39-second mark of the first half. Buchenbacher would score twice in the match that saw nine different players score goals “Regardless of the opponent, our mantra has been, ‘I don’t care who’s on the other side, we play our brand of ball.’ For the most part we did that — with a brief lapse maybe midway through the first half,” said Antoun.
First half goals came from the speedy Solis (5:19), Nick Dunn (12:21), Daniel Weaver (15:31), Tumlinson (19:42) and Kaden Geron getting his first varsity goal at the 20:50 mark. The Texans led 6-0 going into the halftime intermission.
“The game was out of hand fairly early. We made sure everyone saw field time but made a point to finish the game with all the seniors back on the field. Ten goals coming from nine different players is about all you need to know about tonight,” said Antoun.
Second half goals came from Phillips (45:40), Buchenbacher (47:30), Joel Carrasco (56:29) and a first varsity goal for freshman Paul Gumbert-Mendoza who dove for a crossbar ricochet, heading the ball into the net at the 75:52 mark of the contest.
“I was happy for Paul and Kaden to get their first varsity goals and for Eric to get his second. Bryce’s goal last year was a scramble in front of the box on a corner kick so he poked it in, but he earned this one. He really reared back and let her rip tonight,” noted Antoun. “I’m really happy about how unselfish we were in scoring the ball, looking to create goals for each other. I was proud of Gage Tomlinson battling through injury and soreness to take the field on senior night.”
A special moment took place in goal for the Texans as Jack Boyle, who played Texan soccer for the first time this season, started in goal as a senior. Coach Antoun recalled Boyle coming to talk to him after football season.
“He came to me and said, ‘I just want to compete. I want to do something.’ I told him, ‘Alright, man. We’ll do something.’” Antoun said. “He’s worked hard and been willing to do any and everything as a part of the team. So we were in a position to start him tonight.”
The plan was for Boyle to play the first half then have sophomore starter Ian Craig play the second. Boyle had rejected a couple of shots on goal in the first half and had handled situations well, holding the Griffins scoreless. When Antoun approached Craig to begin warming up, Craig acknowledged Boyle’s effort and asked Antoun to keep Boyle in goal for the remainder of the game.
“So that’s a sophomore talking, you know? It’s great and exemplifies the unselfishness this team is made of,” said Antoun. “Kudos to Ian for recognizing the moment and acknowledging Jack’s contribution.”
Boyle finished his first start in goal with a complete game shutout facing a handful of shots on goal. The 10-0 win for the Texans makes them fans of Fredericksburg, if only for a single game. With Bandera High School beating Canyon Lake High School last Friday, the Texans now await the outcome of next week’s contest where the Billies host the Bulldogs on Monday, March 20. The Texans need a Bandera loss or tie in order to end the season in fourth place and advance to the playoffs.
