There was a time when being a soccer team in the state of Texas brought the odd stare and questioning reply. The state has been under the heel of the other football for so long, that soccer was the underground sport, played by diehards and kids too small for the bruising blows of the gridiron. But soccer continued to grow in the Lone Star state, slowly spreading its roots, like grass establishing itself in the hard-baked Texas soil. And what was once a sparse and weak landscape is now a dominant region of the game, filled with powerhouse clubs across the state. It’s safe to say Texas may be one of the toughest gauntlets for soccer clubs in the country. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.

Originally founded as an indoor soccer team, Capital City Soccer Club expanded into the UPSL a little over a year ago. Under the leadership of coach Marc Dobrenel, the club is set to play in this weekend’s UPSL semifinals against Olympians FC. While the match will be an intense one, the club has faced a grueling path to get this deep in the UPSL playoffs.

Capital City SC isn’t a club that dominated every match in their conference, filled with strong and aggressive clubs who took turns beating each other up in the regular season, instead, the Austin-based club outlasted their competition. Playing in the Heart division of the Central Conference, Capital City ground through the regular season, finishing 6-1-3. The team won their division with the determination to score goals, netting an impressive 35 goals in 10 regular season matches. And though they gave up 19, their overwhelming approach to scoring left them on top of the standings at the end of the regular season. Coach Dobrenel is quick to point out the division wasn’t a cakewalk. “This group of six teams including capital city SC was tough and pretty competitive. Almost every game was a challenge and we worked very hard for our spot in Atlanta.”

The club went into its playoff run and kept doing what its team knew how to do best: scoring goals. In the four matches leading up to the semifinals, Capital City scored another 15 goals. Each match was against some of the most well-known UPSL clubs in the state, including Foro 360 Pro and La Maquina FC. Every Capital City player contributed along the way to the semifinals and for Dobrenel, deciding how to fill out the lineup card is one of the tougher parts of his job. “Every game has been a real challenge for me and I had to make difficult choices every week. I have a group of 19 players with excellent qualities.”

Capital City is a club that can take a punch and come back twice as hard. The club is full of grinders, built around the ideas of “discipline, intensity, and determination.” The ability to score goals doesn’t hurt either. While the match against Olympians won’t be easy, this team is battle-tested from one of the most intense soccer states in the country. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Capital City in the final on Sunday.

- Dan Vaughn