The Sachse boys soccer team celebrates after defeating Naaman Forest in a shootout. The Mustangs shut out Rowlett 4-0 Friday to win the team’s first outright district title since 2021. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By David Wolman
ROWLETT — There wasn’t a trophy presentation following the conclusion of Friday’s District 9-6A boys soccer match between Sachse and Rowlett.
With school officials giving the two teams and fans in attendance only a few minutes to leave Rowlett’s soccer stadium, Mustangs head coach Shane Montgomery told his players to quickly gather their personal belongings and walk to the team bus. Although Rowlett celebrated its district championship win on Sachse’s home field last season, Montgomery preferred to wait until his team returned to Sachse High on Friday to celebrate a 5-0 win over Rowlett and the team’s first outright district title since the 2021 season.
Montgomery couldn’t wait to return to Sachse to celebrate the district title win with his players and coaches.
“It’s going to be great,” he said. “It’s going to be lit. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Friday’s win capped off a big turnaround for Sachse, which went from missing the playoffs after a late-season slide last year to winning its first district title in five years.
Montgomery, who had been the assistant coach since 2016 before being elevated to head coach during the middle of last season, saw the potential of this year’s team come to fruition last spring. During spring workouts, players worked with coaches on technical training as well as character development.
All of that hard work has been reflected in the Mustangs’ 15-3-4 overall record.
“We spent a lot of time working on technical training in the spring,” Montgomery said. “We went from hundreds of touches per training session to maybe 1,000 touches per training session. You can see it on the field.”
After both teams generated quality scoring chances during the first 20 minutes, the Mustangs struck first in the 28th minute. Junior Shane Logan struck the ball with his left foot into the net for a 1-0 Sachse advantage.
Sachse’s team speed was on full display during its second goal.
Andres Ocampo, also a junior, ran through an opening on the left side of the penalty area and kicked the ball into the net for a 2-0 Mustangs lead with 6:52 left in the first half.
Sachse played with more intensity and focus during a second half that saw the Mustangs dominate time of possession.
The Mustangs capitalized on a defensive mistake by Rowlett to take a 3-0 lead. A cross by senior Isaac Gomez was redirected off the body of an Eagle defender. Rowlett’s goalkeeper ran aggressively out of his net to attempt to make a save. However, the ball went through his arms. Senior Julian Hinojosa spotted the ball and kicked it into a partially wide-open net for a goal.
Junior Aiden Ronquillo finished a perfect service into the box for a 4-0 lead before the Mustangs scored another goal with less than five seconds remaining.
As the final seconds ticked off the game clock, Sachse players on the sideline counted down from 10 out loud before storming the field to celebrate the win and the outright district title with their Mustang teammates.
Sachse swept the district title in boys and girls soccer. The Lady Mustangs won the 9-6A title in the girls division.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Montgomery said. “I’m proud of this team and how they carry themselves. Just the things that they’ve been asked to do like not celebrate in front of the other team and be humble, they do it over and over again.”
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