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Central boys soccer head coach Tony Vu knew before this year’s season began that it would be special.
Vu saw many ups and downs during his 20-year tenure at Central as an assistant and head coach. In the 2025 team, he saw potential as they rebuilt from a one-win campaign three seasons prior. After yearly steady improvement, Central was back to competing for a district title.
Like all of Vu’s teams in the past, this year’s squad was defensively oriented. It was only logical since he was a defensive player. The Bobcats had 13 shutouts and only allowed 14 goals in 2025, headlined by a formidable defensive backline led by his son Christian Vu, one of the 16 seniors featured on this year’s team.
“It’s always been special knowing (Christian) was going to be coming up to Central and playing for me,” Tony Vu said. “… I’ve also coached quite a few of these guys when they were younger, so to see their development over the years, I knew they had the potential to be a special group, and what they’ve been able to accomplish is no surprise to me.”
The Bobcats finished the season with a 13-5-5 overall record and 5-2-3 in district, earning their first district title since 2018 and dethroning last year’s district champions Frenship 2-0 in the final game.
“All year long, we’ve had the mentality of ‘This is our year’ and we’re capable of winning a district championship,” senior captain Brandon Cedillo said. “The matchup against Fresnhip, I feel, was basically a playoff game. We came out strong, and it helped prepare us for the first round of the playoffs.”
The first round of the playoffs was a wall that the Bobcats struggled to break through in recent years. Their last bi-district win came against Socorro in 2013 when they upset the Bulldogs as the fourth seed in double overtime.
Central once again faced Socorro in the playoffs, but the tables were turned with the Bobcats as the top seed and Socorro as the lower seed. Like Tony Vu and the rest of the team predicted, this year’s Bobcat team was different. They came back from a two-hour trek to Midland with their first playoff win in 12 years with a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs.
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After confirming their beliefs, another familiar opponent stood in the Bobcats' way of accomplishing what they had not done since 2008. After dispatching Mansfield in the first round, the storied Southlake Carroll Dragons awaited Central in the area round. Along with being a thorn in the side of postseason runs for other San Angelo Central sports programs, the Bobcats already played the Dragons in their first game of the year, losing 2-1.
After the first half against Southlake Carroll, the game was tied 0-0 with Central’s defense smothering the high-powered Dragons' offense.
The second half was a different story as Southlake Carroll’s Fife Adeyemo found the back of the net twice, sending the Bobcats home from Abilene with a 2-0 loss.
After the game, Tony Vu and Christian Vu embraced on the field before greeting family, friends and fans in the stands like they do after every game.
“It’s really just a great privilege to have my dad there at all of my games, not matter what,” Christian Vu said. “… It’s really just something that I’ve appreciated throughout my whole life. Being able to play with him and just getting to this point.”
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: 'Special' senior class helped Central boys soccer capture success
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Vu saw many ups and downs during his 20-year tenure at Central as an assistant and head coach. In the 2025 team, he saw potential as they rebuilt from a one-win campaign three seasons prior. After yearly steady improvement, Central was back to competing for a district title.
Like all of Vu’s teams in the past, this year’s squad was defensively oriented. It was only logical since he was a defensive player. The Bobcats had 13 shutouts and only allowed 14 goals in 2025, headlined by a formidable defensive backline led by his son Christian Vu, one of the 16 seniors featured on this year’s team.
“It’s always been special knowing (Christian) was going to be coming up to Central and playing for me,” Tony Vu said. “… I’ve also coached quite a few of these guys when they were younger, so to see their development over the years, I knew they had the potential to be a special group, and what they’ve been able to accomplish is no surprise to me.”
The Bobcats finished the season with a 13-5-5 overall record and 5-2-3 in district, earning their first district title since 2018 and dethroning last year’s district champions Frenship 2-0 in the final game.
“All year long, we’ve had the mentality of ‘This is our year’ and we’re capable of winning a district championship,” senior captain Brandon Cedillo said. “The matchup against Fresnhip, I feel, was basically a playoff game. We came out strong, and it helped prepare us for the first round of the playoffs.”
The first round of the playoffs was a wall that the Bobcats struggled to break through in recent years. Their last bi-district win came against Socorro in 2013 when they upset the Bulldogs as the fourth seed in double overtime.
Central once again faced Socorro in the playoffs, but the tables were turned with the Bobcats as the top seed and Socorro as the lower seed. Like Tony Vu and the rest of the team predicted, this year’s Bobcat team was different. They came back from a two-hour trek to Midland with their first playoff win in 12 years with a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs.
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More: Meet the 2024-2025 All-West Texas girls high school basketball team
More: Eldorado's Jaysen Santellano win's state powerlifting title, plus other West Texas performers
After confirming their beliefs, another familiar opponent stood in the Bobcats' way of accomplishing what they had not done since 2008. After dispatching Mansfield in the first round, the storied Southlake Carroll Dragons awaited Central in the area round. Along with being a thorn in the side of postseason runs for other San Angelo Central sports programs, the Bobcats already played the Dragons in their first game of the year, losing 2-1.
After the first half against Southlake Carroll, the game was tied 0-0 with Central’s defense smothering the high-powered Dragons' offense.
The second half was a different story as Southlake Carroll’s Fife Adeyemo found the back of the net twice, sending the Bobcats home from Abilene with a 2-0 loss.
After the game, Tony Vu and Christian Vu embraced on the field before greeting family, friends and fans in the stands like they do after every game.
You must be registered for see images attach
“It’s really just a great privilege to have my dad there at all of my games, not matter what,” Christian Vu said. “… It’s really just something that I’ve appreciated throughout my whole life. Being able to play with him and just getting to this point.”
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, @Paul_Witwer.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: 'Special' senior class helped Central boys soccer capture success
Continue reading...
