Community Champions: San Elizario honors state champion boys soccer team

It’s been a week since the San Elizario boys soccer team won the 4A state championship for the second year in a row.

But the party isn’t over yet.

The team was honored at a pep rally Friday at San Elizario High School complete with the band, cheerleaders, and plenty of excited students.

And they have a lot to be excited about. The team has now won state three of the last five years (2015, 2018, 2019) and shows no sign of slowing down thanks to the culture of winning that’s firmly in place.

“But there’s something more to culture. And it really is the key to success,” said head coach Max Sappenfield. “And it’s that culture where a kid knows when he walks in that building, he can win.”

That culture has created a team that plays for one another each year and each individual game.

“I mean, we’re always trying to fight for each other. We’re always giving it our all for each other. And we set a goal,” said defender Edgar Caro.

In addition to the culture at the school there’s another key ingredient that has fueld this run for the Eagles.

“We just keep fighting. The pressure is there, of course, but we just put it in our minds and we just keep going until the time finishes,” said Caro.