STEPHENVILLE – At the midway point of the District 5-4A boys soccer schedule, the Brownwood Lions sit alone atop the league standings following a 3-2 road victory over the Stephenville Yellow Jackets.
The fourth place finisher in 5-4A last year, the Lions (7-1-2, 4-0) are unbeaten in district action in 2026 and extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Lions dominated the second half scoring three consecutive goals to grab a 3-1 advantage. Stephenville (6-7-4, 3-1) scored again with five minutes left, but Brownwood held on down the stretch.
A bicycle kick from Jonathan Skrhak evened the score; Aiden Jimenez found the net on a header with 16 minutes left, assisted by Skrhak, to push the Lions in front; and Alex Vaquera tacked on an insurance goal with a header with an assist by Jermiah Chacon 12 minutes to go.
“We went down 1-0 at half and it took us a bit to adjust,” said Lions head coach Michael Westerman. “We started the second half on the upper hand with a lot of intensity and purpose. Jonathan Skrhak changed the tempo of the game after he scored a bicycle kick from the top of the 18-yard box. Skrhak was also able to find the head of Aiden Jimenez from a cross down the left side. Shortly after, Jermiah found Alex Vaquera’s head from a free kick set piece to push the lead to 3-1. With five minutes remaining Stephenville found the back of the net to chip away the lead to 3-2. The game became scrappy and but our boys stayed composed, stayed together and were able to secure the victory.”
The Lions open the second half of district action at home against Lampasas at 7 p.m. Friday. Brownwood won the first meeting between the two teams in Lampasas, 2-1, on Feb. 3.