Lumberton head girls soccer coach Jason Hopson watches as his team compete. Photo taken in Georgetown, Wednesday, Apr., 13, 2022.
Stephen Spillman

The high school soccer season in Southeast Texas officially came to an end Wednesday with both Lumberton teams losing in state semifinal games.

The Lady Raiders were first to take the field at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown, falling to Stephenville, 4-0. The Lumberton boys team played later in the day during a much more dramatic game, but suffered a 3-2 defeat to Palestine in overtime.

Lumberton's teams represented to the last local soccer programs playing this season. The losses leave Southeast Texas still without a UIL state soccer championship all time.

In the girls game, Lumberton was upended by a dazzling individual performance by a Stephenville striker. Ashley Perez scored three goals to pace an offense that was far too much for the Lady Raiders to defend.

It was only a 1-0 halftime deficit for the Lumberton girls, but Perez quickly added to that lead with two more goals in the second half.

The Lady Raiders end their season at 21-3-1. It marked their second straight appearance in the Class 4A girls state semifinals.

A few hours later, the Lumberton boys took the field hoping to secure their first state championship appearance in school history. Despite spirited comeback attempts both at the end of regulation and in overtime, the Raiders fell short of reaching the final game.

Lumberton trailed 1-0 until a goal with 6 minutes left in the game tied things up. The Raiders allowed a goal in overtime, but again brought the game even late in the overtime period.

Palestine ultimately scored a third goal to hold off Lumberton and hang on for the 3-2 victory.

Lumberton's boys team finished the season 21-2-3. It was the program's first appearance in the state tournament,

MFaye@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/mattGfaye