Vandegrift Boys Soccer One Win Away from Playing for State Championship

By Luke Lawhorn

Reporting Texas

The Vandegrift High School boys soccer team stands for the national anthem before their regional semifinal match against Clemens on March 28, 2025, at San Marcos High School.
Luke Lawhorn/Reporting Texas

The Vandegrift High School boys soccer team is one win away from finishing what last season’s team started. After suffering a heartbreaking loss in the Class 6A state semifinals a year ago and losing nine of their 11 starters, the new-look Vipers are positioned to make history in the Division II side of the bracket.

After beating Westlake 2-1 in the bi-district round and O’Connor 1-0 in the area round, Vandegrift faced off with Clemens in the regional semifinals last Friday at San Marcos High School. The Vipers pulled off another close win, beating the Buffaloes 2-1 to punch their ticket to the regional finals. 

Vandegrift senior forward Nabhi Shrimal scored the game’s first goal in the 16th minute. After getting past multiple Clemens defenders, Shrimal finished the move with a kick off his left foot and sprinted toward a second of Vandegrift fans to celebrate.

“It’s a big game. The person who scores the first goal is usually a big boost for the whole team,” Shrimal said. “I’m happy to have scored a really good goal. I’ve been trying those all season, never worked out, but today it did, so I’m really happy about that.”

Clemens scored a goal of its own to tie the match before halftime. After making some adjustments, Vandegrift held the Buffaloes scoreless in the second half and scored its final goal in the 44th minute to seal the victory.

“We’ve been together since our freshman year and we’ve basically all progressed and moved up levels together,” Vandegrift senior goalkeeper Finn Snyder said. “So we have spent four more years together, just playing together and being able to share this field with these boys has made these last four years amazing to me.”

Vandegrift followed that performance with another close victory, edging Bowie 2-1 in the regional final on Tuesday to return to the state semifinals. The Vipers face Strake Jesuit on Friday at Bryan High School. The winner will move on to the state championship game, which will take place at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12 at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown. 

Vandegrift head coach Jonathan Winship believes the team’s camaraderie and calmness in tight spots have been key to the Vipers’ success.

“I think the difference between this team and a lot of teams is we have an emotional maturity,” Winship said. “We don’t get on each other, we don’t scream. We are really staying the course.”