Though the Marble Falls High School boys soccer team had already won the District 25-4A crown before taking the field against Burnet March 8, the Mustangs wanted to complete the task with an unblemished record.
They did that with a 6-0 win to ensure a perfect 10-0 record.
"Last year was actu - ally our first district title in program history,” head coach Rick Hoover said. "Last year I was excited about the district champi- onship because it had nev - er been done. You have to get your first one. It is sweeter with this (2024) group, even the good and the bad. The bad is I have 15 seniors on my varsity team who will graduate. Having that kind of expe rience and depth is some- thing we haven't had in 15 years.”
While winning 10 matches is difficult to do, the Mustangs (18-2-1) relied heavily on a stin gy defense that kept the opponent off scoreboard in seven contests. Marble Falls allowed a total of three goals during district play.
To illustrate how com -
manding the Mustangs were, consider this.
Marble Falls shut out Austin Achieve (12-8, 8-2), Burnet (10-10, 5-5) and Lago Vista (9-16-2, 5-5), the three teams that qualified for the playoffs, in all six matchups.
"It was a dominant dis - trict run," Hoover said. "I am absolutely thrilled and happy. But you still have to win in the playoffs."
Senior Garrett Goggans set a record for the most goals scored in a sea- son with 29, breaking the old record of 28.
“He’s had a phenom- enal two years," Hoover said of the four-year letterman. “He’s a great player.”
While the Mustangs celebrated the accomplishments of the season, Hoover remains calm. That's because he believes this squad is capable of accomplishing much more. At the same time, the Class 4A playoffs in Texas are unforgiving be cause of the one-and-done system. Simply, win and advance or lose and call it a season.
Hoover knows as well as anyone that in Tex as, sometimes the most talented squads don’t advance.
"Our goal was to win the district and make a run,” he said. “This year our main focus has been the playoffs. Our goal is to go farther than we did a year ago. And that’s dangerous because you’re looking ahead.”
In 2023, the Mustangs lost to 2022 state champion Boerne High in the third round. Boerne lost to Hidalgo, the eventual 2023 state champion that beat Achieve in the re - gional semifinals. "You have to win the first one," Hoover said of accomplishing goals.
"Now it's win or go home.”
The playoff order in District 26-4A, which is matched up with District 25-4A in the bi-district round of the playoffs, is unsettled. Marble Falls may meet Fredericksburg, San Antonio Davenport or Wimberley in the first round. That order won't be settled until next week.
If the Mustangs face Wimberley, it will be a re match of last year’s bi-district contest, a 7-1 Marble Falls victory.
"It doesn't matter who the competition is,” the coach said. “They don’t play down. We've had teams we've struggled with and other teams we haven't struggled with. When you have to play them a second time, that’s always dangerous. We've been able to avoid that."
He pointed to the numbers. The Mustangs beat Burnet 6-0 in both contests, Lago Vista 7-0 in both matches, and Achieve 3-0 in both games.
And that illustrates another important approach of these Mustangs, Hoover said.
"They've been able to mentally stay locked in," he said. "I think it's a very strong character trait of this group. They know they have to step up ev ery time they step on the field."
Marble Falls has a tentative warm-up con test scheduled against Davenport Friday, March 22. But if the two teams face each other in the first round of the playoffs, that match is canceled.
Jennifer Fierro publishes reports about area youth athletic events on her website TexasChalkTalk.com. To send her a note, email fierrojennifer@yahoo.com.