EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Four years after a magical run to the 2019 Class 5A state championship, the 2023 Bel Air boys soccer team is looking to repeat the feat.
The Highlanders are back in the 5A Regional Semifinals for the first time since 2019 and will face Burleson Centennial Friday at 11:30 a.m. MT in Wichita Falls in the Sweet 16.
Bel Air has a claim to being the favorite to win the 5A state title. The Highlanders enter the Regional Tournament undefeated at 25-0-1 and ranked number one in the state of Texas.
Head coach Sergio Delgado told KTSM on Tuesday that he thinks this year’s team has a chance to be even better than the 2019 edition. However, they’re doing their best to stay focused on the task at hand.
“We want to win a state championship. If we focus too much on what they’re saying out there, it hurts us. Right now we need to concentrate, work daily and fix the little things we need to fix,” Delgado said.
The seniors on the 2023 squad were in eighth grade when the Highlanders won it all four years ago, but they remember it well.
They all want some of their own hardware to add to the Bel Air trophy case.
“We don’t listen to the rankings even if we’re number one or number two. We just put it aside and play our game,” said senior defender Gaston Arreola.
Joining the Highlanders in the Regional Semifinals will be the Eastlake boys in Class 6A and the Andress girls in Class 5A. In Class 4A, the San Elizario boys and girls and the Irvin boys will all play in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
