History made- Randall Lady Raiders beat Wimberly in thriller to win first ever UIL state soccer championship

For head coach Whitney Bernard, it’s a feeling she’ll never forget in her 18 years leading the program. It’s even more special with her daughters Ryan and Kyndal McClain on the team making such an impact.

“I couldn’t have written this script any better it’s been quite a ride,” said Bernard, who won her 279th career game Thursday. “We stayed in it; we kept fighting and we played our game. This is such an incredible feeling. For us to do it with Ryan (McClain) about to graduate, and Kyndal (McClain) stepping into her role next year, I don’t even have the words. It’s absolutely amazing. I’m so proud of this entire team. They put in the work and left it all on the field.”

Randall controlled the opening moments of the game and produced a quality opportunity but weren’t able to capitalize on the Lady Texans shaky (24-2-2) start, as a shot missed just wide left, off the foot of Layla Williams. It didn’t take Wimberley long to settle in, as Lillian Sandavol put one past Randalls goalie for her first goal of the game, taking a 1-0 lead, 7 minutes into the contest. That snapped the Lady Raiders defensive scoreless streak of 246 minutes without allowing a goal during the postseason.

However, Randall didn’t flinch. Senior Ryan Mcclain hit the crossbar at the 12-minute mark nearly tying the contest, but the game remained 1-0 Wimberley. Through a defensive struggle most of the first half, the Lady Raiders finally broke through when Ryan McClain tied the game 1-1 at the 36-minute mark, placing a beautiful shot from outside the box, over the goalies’ head. That sent both teams into intermission.

The Lady Raiders wasted no time settling into the second half, striking quickly four mins in on a beautiful pass inside the box from Kyndal Mcclain to Brooke French, giving The Lady Raiders a 2-1 lead. 

French scoring a goal was flat-out incredible. French had won the 3200-meter run with a time of 11:10.34 at the District 3-4A/ 4-4A Area track and Field meet Wednesday night in Andrews and drove down to meet her team to make the game by early morning. French then took off by plane from Georgetown right after the Randall state victory to run in the 1600-meter race later Thursday afternoon back in Andrews where she took silver with a time of 5:14.30.

“Brooke is special,” Bernard said. “I’ve never seen what she did the last 24 hours. She did a sendoff with us and then she went to run track on Wednesday. She won a gold medal and then got here at midnight to join us for breakfast and did the pre-game activities. Then she scored a goal and helped us win state and got back on a plane to go run again. I’ve never seen that before and the UIL people were amazed. That’s who she is she’ll do anything for her team and to win.”

After taking the 2-1 lead Randall’s defense took hold and the Lady Raiders controlled possession for most of the second half. It looked as if they were certain to capture their first ever state title in regulation, but with just over 11 minutes remaining, Lillian Sandavol scored her second goal of the match for Wimberley, tying the game at 2-2, and sending this clash into overtime.

Overtime was a defensive struggle, much the same as the majority of the game, as neither team was able to produce a goal, leading to the ever exciting and heart-stopping penalty kicks. 

Each team made their first five penalty kicks, enacting sudden death to the PKs, from that point on. Randall goalie Jani Contreras blocked Wimberly’s sixth attempt, giving the Lady Raiders an opportunity to win the game, but Wimberley goalie Sydney Laney was also able to block Randall’s sixth attempt setting up the final act and most exciting bit where the drama would unfold.

Contreras blocked her second penalty kick, setting the stage for Kyleigh McHugh. With the weight of an entire season and history on the line, McHugh drilled the kick past Laney and the celebration was on for the Lady Raiders.

“We knew from the summer this was something we were striving for,” Contreras said. “We knew we had the talent, and we knew it would come down to how bad we wanted it and we did it.”

Bernard echoed Contreras’ comments.

“I had complete faith that we would pull it out if we just took care of the penalty kicks,” Bernard said. “We have a tremendous goalkeeper, and this team is so good and can bury PKs.”

Kyndal McClain was named the game MVP. The sophomore, and daughter of head coach Whitney Bernard, had an assist with a penalty kick goal on top of a great defensive performance in the 83 minutes on the field.

“This is a dream come true,” said Kyndal, who finished with 37 goals on the year. “Game after game we were believing more and more. To win it with my mom and my sister makes me so proud. We all have gold around our necks.”

For a full look at the box score, please visit https://www.uiltexas.org/files/athletics/state-soccer/boxscores-girls/2025_4AD2_GSOC_Box.pdf

Gallery photos taken by James Abel for Press Pass Sports: