After missing out on the playoffs a year ago, the Brownwood Lions are looking to take advantage of a smaller District 5-4A this season as realignment has left the league with five teams instead of seven.
The Lions posted a 7-10-1 overall record in 2024 and just a 5-7 mark against district competition.
Brownwood, however, returns a solid nucleus from last year’s squad and will have to finish above just one of Stephenville, Gatesville, Lampasas and Little River Academy to end a one-year postseason hiatus.
“We lost a lot that we’ve been working to replace but we have a good group, nine seniors, coming back,” said Lions head coach Michael Westerman. “The majority of the varsity is returning players with a handful we moved up from the JV. The program is continuing to grow, there’s a lot of depth and numbers, and a lot of solid upperclassmen.”
Players to watch for the Lions, according to Westerman, include midfielders Aidan Pena and Jose Rodriguez along with Stephen Rodriguez and Jeremiah Chacon on the back row.
“Stephen Rodriguez is a senior that plays on the back line for us and also rotates up top,” Westerman said. “Jose Rodriguez plays in the midfield for us and is really good at controlling the game. Aidan Pena is a solid guy in the midfield as well. A junior that’s new on the back line and has been doing a phenomenal job is Jeremiah Chacon. These guys are all great leaders and they’re going to make a big impact for us this year.”
Prior to the District 5-4A slate, the Lions face China Spring in the New Year’s Eve season opener as well as Snyder, Abilene Cooper, Abilene Wylie and Fredericksburg, along with the trips to the Georgetown and Alvarado tournaments.
“We’re paying a lot of tough teams to prepare us for district and I’ve been extremely impressed with our team chemistry already,” Westerman said. “This is the best team chemistry we’ve had since I’ve been here. I don’t think it’s a matter of we’re more technical than we were last year, we just struggled with team chemistry and gelling together and learning how each other plays. It’s already significantly better this year.”
Regarding the District 5-4A race, Westerman said, “We lost Salado and China Spring so that crunched the district down a little smaller with five teams. There’s a ton of competition, Lampasas is going to have a strong team, Gatesville will be solid, Stephenville always has a really good team and Little River Academy has been getting better each year. It’s going to be an exciting district but our expectation is to fight for the district title and I think we’re perfectly capable of it this year as long as we stay healthy during a tough pre-district schedule.”
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BROWNWOOD LIONS VARSITY SOCCER SCHEDULE
| D31 | China Spring | 1 p.m. |
| J2-4 | at Georgetown tournament | TBA |
| J7 | at Snyder | 7 p.m. |
| J9-11 | at Alvarado tournament | TBA |
| J14 | Abilene Cooper | 7 p.m. |
| J17 | San Angelo Lake View | 7 p.m. |
| J24 | at Abilene Wylie | 7 p.m. |
| J31 | at Fredericksburg | 7 p.m. |
| F4 | Lampasas* | 7 p.m. |
| F7 | BYE | |
| F11 | at Little River Academy* | 7 p.m. |
| F14 | at Gatesville* | 7 p.m. |
| F18 | Stephenville* | 7 p.m. |
| F21 | at Lampasas* | 7 p.m. |
| F25 | BYE | |
| F28 | Little River Academy* | 7 p.m. |
| M4 | Gatesville* | 7 p.m. |
| M7 | Stephenville* | 7:30 p.m. |
*District 5-4A Games