Editor’s note: Paul Shepard, the author of this story, is a contributor to The Glenwood Herald.

This historic season has ended for both the girls and boys soccer teams from Centerpoint. Each team captured their first outright conference championships, and a No. 1 seed in the state tournament.

Both the Knights and Lady Knights traveled to Conway, Arkansas to compete in the 3-A State Soccer Tournament, Thursday (May 14).

The Lady Knights opened tournament play against the Riverview Lady Pirates and secured a 2-0 victory. Goals were scored by sophomore Eunice Monsivais in the first half and junior Katherine Galvan in the second half. The comfortable win made a statement, as the lady Knights defeated the same opponent that eliminated them from the tournament a year ago.

On Friday (May 15), the Lady Knights faced off against the Baptist Prep Lady Eagles, one of the favorites to win the whole tournament, after finishing as last year’s runner-up. It was a highly competitive contest, but the Lady Knights fell just short of victory as the Lady Eagles won 3-1. Senior Lilie Hernandez scored the lone goal for the Lady Knights. Despite the loss, their coaches Ward Menzies and Jesus Vazquez (lovingly referred to as Coach “V”), felt the Lady Knights played a tremendous game and gave a valiant effort against one of the teams many felt would win the 3-A championship.

With a strong foundation in place, the team is looking forward to next year, as they hope to build upon the historic success of this present season.

The Knights boys team played three games in three days. On Thursday, they played Buffalo Island Central. Coach Jacob Roberson said, “I think there were some nerves going in because we started the game slow.”

“Early in the second half, Caleb Morales scored an incredible goal from what had to be 30 yards out to give us the lead. And we never looked back,” he added.

On Friday, the Knights played Lifeway Christian. Coach Roberson shared, “We were in control most of the game, but could never quite pull away enough for it to be comfortable. And Lifeway threw everything they had at us.”

The Knights did hang on for a 3-2 victory and advanced to the semi-finals game for the third consecutive year.

On Saturday, the Knights played Decatur from Northwest Arkansas. Coach Roberson said, “Unfortunately, against Decatur, we just had a bit of bad luck. They scored one of their only chances of the game. And they played excellent defense to keep us from scoring. Even though we had around 20 chances to score, we just couldn’t quite put the ball into the back of their net.”

Coach Roberson summarized the season.

“It’s bittersweet. I couldn’t be prouder of the guys and the work they put in this season. They achieved a record of 15 wins, one tie and one loss. This is by far the best season in school history. It’s also the first time we have won our conference championship,” he said.

“I do truly believe we were the best team in 3-A and we were just unfortunate to go out when we did, but that’s why we play the game. Credit to Decatur for playing hard and earning the win,” he added.

At the Centerpoint Athletic Awards Assembly, both Lady Knights and Knights were recognized for their team and individual achievements. All- Conference honors went to Haily Medina, Alexa Derrick and Maria Santillan. All-State honors were awarded to Lilie Hernadez, Eunice Monsivais and Mia Reyes. For the Knights, All-Conference honors were awarded to Blas Velasquez, Gama Velazquez, Tony Valdez, Jeremiah Ponce, Ronnie Ramirez and Jesse Hernandez. All-State honors went to Leo Vander, Jareth Medina and Ely Welch.

Following the assembly, coach Roberson shared that he will not be returning to coach at Centerpoint next year. He added, “But I will be there at the championship game in the Spring of 2027 to cheer on the Knights.”