The boy’s soccer season (17-5-2, 11-3 in districts) ended last week with a loss to the Mount Pleasant Tigers (20-5-2, 12-0) in the regional quarterfinals of playoffs after the game was decided in a 4-3 shootout following a tied game through regulation and overtime.

“This season was a lot of fun,” junior Benji Merrick said. “I learned a lot about my game, and as a team, although we had a tough loss in the playoff game against Mount Pleasant, I am looking forward to seeing what we can do next year.”

The Leopards finished district play as champions for the second year in a row and defeated Sulphur Springs and Lake Dallas en route to the regional tournament.

“My favorite part of the season was to get hype on the bus after big wins on the way back to the school, especially playoff games,” junior Max Pabin said.

This year’s varsity squad will graduate seniors Bretton Laboret, Enrique Vega, Kishan Vasal, Trevor Kusgen, Nick Smith, Kyle Sorstokke, Gavin George, Grant Lange, Harry Haas, Kyle Fisher, Matthew Schreiber, and Matthew Wilson.

“All the memories that I’ve created and taken part in with the rest of the team has been the best part of my soccer career at Lovejoy,” senior Enrique Vega said.

Next year’s team will be reloaded with a number of junior varsity players, who went undefeated in junior varsity district play this year.

Leopards’ District 15-5A Honors

Offensive MVP – Junior Benji Merrick

Defensive MVP – Senior Grant Lange

Utility Player of the Year – Junior Caleb Toomey

Newcomer of the Year – Senior Gavin George

Coach of the Year – Alex Duran

First Team All-District Team – Seniors Kyle Fisher, Kishan Vasal, Enrique Vega, and Matthew Schreiber, juniors Max Pabin and Christian Kwon.

Second Team All-District Team – Juniors Tyler Bellows and Jackson Diamond, sophomores Alan Beaney and Diego Rodriguez.

Honorable Mention – Senior Matthew Wilson, sophomore Micheal Branch.