LHS Soccer Teams Make it a Night to Remember Friday at Leopard Stadium
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Lady Leps soccer players got to select and honor special teachers prior to Friday’s match. -
La Grange’s Trinity Yanis, left, battles for control of the ball against a Caldwell player in Friday’s match. Photo by Jeff Wick -
La Grange’s Jeffrey Cabrera scored four goals in Friday’s 8-0 victory.
The La Grange varsity soccer teams had a memorable doubleheader against Caldwell Friday at home.
First the Lady Leps honored staff members who have made a positive difference in their life. Then the girls went out and beat Caldwell 3-1 to improve to 3-0 in district.
Meanwhile the La Grange boys (who are 7-1-1 overall and 3-0 in district) beat Caldwell 8-0 to enact the program’s first ever mercy-rule victory.
Here’s more on both those matches.
Via Mercy Rule
The Leopards varsity boys soccer team came out hot and never cooled off against the Caldwell Hornets Friday.
Senior captain Jeffrey Cabrera led the way with a first half hat trick. Fellow captain Raul Mancera added two goals of his own as well as an assist. Junior wing Aaron Torres followed suit with a goal to end the half. Coming out of half time up 6-0 the Leopards went for the kill shot as Jeffrey Cabrera and Aaron Torres both scored again, ending the game in an 8-0 mercy with 20 minutes remaining in the second half. This is the first win by mercy rule in La Grange boys soccer history. Sophomore wing Aldo Hernandez led the team with three assists. Gio Luna, Aaron Torres, Aaron Monjaras, Matthew Olvera all recorded an assist a piece.
Lady Leps Win 3-1
The La Grange Lady Leps Varsity Soccer team overcame an early deficit and a physical Caldwell defense on Friday night, surging in the second half to secure a 3-1 victory at home. The win marks the Lady Leps’ fifth consecutive win of the 2026 season.
Despite the Lady Leps entering the match with momentum, Caldwell opened up with a high level of physical intensity, capitalizing on some sluggishness by the home team to take a 1-0 lead midway through the first half. La Grange responded before the break when Lily Banks converted a penalty kick following a Caldwell handball in the box, sending the teams into halftime deadlocked at 1-1.
The Lady Leps seized control of the game in the second half. Banks tallied her second goal of the night with a leftfooted strike from approximately 25 yards out, providing La Grange with its first lead of the evening. The team solidified the win when Raylee Gutierrez stepped up to the spot and converted a penalty kick that was awarded after Caldwell’s second handball in the box of the match.
After giving up the first half goal, the La Grange defense held Caldwell scoreless for the final 60 minutes of the game.
Prior to kickoff, the students of the Lady Leps Soccer program held an on-field ceremony recognizing LGISD educators and staff for the positive difference they have made in the students’ lives and the overall school community.
Coach Barry Donovan, channeling fellow coach Ted Lasso: “Falling behind 1-0 is a lot like accidentally putting salt in your morning coffee instead of sugar … it wakes you up but it sure doesn’t taste very good. Fortunately, the team shook off that slow start like a wet dog on a porch after he’s been running through the sprinkler.
“Combine how they responded to being down 1-0 with seeing them honor their teachers before the whistle warmed my heart. In the end, it is about these young women being the best versions of themselves on and off the field, isn’t it?”
The Lady Leps continue district play against Salado at La Grange Stadium on Tuesday, January 24, with JV kicking off at 5:15 p.m. and varsity kicking off at 7:15 p.m.