GEORGETOWN, TX – Greta Kwedar has made history as the first female coach to lead a
boys’ program to a Texas state championship. As head coach of the Austin Achieve
Polar Bears, Kwedar has been with the team since the school’s inception and remains
the only head coach the program has ever known.
On Thursday at the UIL Class 4A-II state final in Georgetown, Texas, Austin Achieve
(22-4-1) clinched the title with a 1–0 victory over Gainesville (18-4-3). The match’s lone
goal came midway through the second half, scored by Fredy Lozano (#7), sealing a
landmark win for the Polar Bears.
The second half was where Austin Achieve truly took control. Their defense completely
shut down Gainesville’s offensive efforts, holding the Leopards without a single shot on
goal. On the other side of the field, the Polar Bears managed seven shots on target
against Gainesville goalkeeper Leonardo Martinez.
“We really hit our rhythm in the second half, and we knew the goal would come,” said
head coach Greta Kwedar. “After Fredy scored, the last few minutes felt painfully long
— just hoping, waiting — but our defense stayed sharp and sealed it for us.”
Kwedar, a cornerstone of the Austin-based charter school since it opened, brings both
experience and passion to the program. She played four years of college soccer — two
at SMU (2004–05) and two at the University of Texas (2006–07), where she captained
the Longhorns to back-to-back Big 12 championships.
With this state title, Kwedar becomes the only female coach to ever lead a boys’ team to
a state championship in any sport in Texas, shattering a long-standing glass ceiling in
the traditionally male-dominated world of high school athletics.
Her leadership not only brought a trophy home to Austin Achieve but also set a powerful
precedent for future generations of female coaches across the state and beyond.
