By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
A little adversity isn’t such a bad thing for a team sometimes, especially when it responds in a positive way.
That’s the formula Brownsville Veterans Memorial followed to achieve its 3-2 District 32-6A soccer victory against Los Fresnos on Saturday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The playoff-bound Chargers (7-6, 22 points) failed to convert several excellent scoring chances during the first half and found themselves trailing 1-0 at intermission. But in the second half they rallied to go up 3-1 and eventually won by one goal as the Falcons (3-10, nine points) added a late score.
With one game remaining this week on their 32-6A schedule against Lopez (7-6, 22 points) to determine the district’s third-place finisher, the Chargers are trying to build momentum for the postseason. They qualified for the playoffs Friday when Harlingen South lost to San Benito2-1.
Coming from behind to win Saturday did a lot to help Brownsville Veterans’ confidence.
“It’s always good to know that your players can keep their calm, stay focused and be able to come back against a good team,” Chargers coach Alberto Vasquez said. “Our guys played well. We had some opportunities in the first half and we didn’t take advantage of them, but we were able to do it in the second half. It was good for us to be able to come back from such adversity.”
The match turned in Los Fresnos’ favor 12 minutes into the action when Fernando Barrientos, a freshman, fired in a strong shot from about 15 yards out on the right side to put the Falcons ahead 1-0.
That score stood until the second half, as the Falcons almost went up 2-0 when a rocket of a shot from 40 yards bounced off the right post during the 48th minute.
Soon afterward, things began to click for the Chargers.
During the 52nd minute, Eduardo Guzman received a centering pass from the right side and put the ball in from close range to even the score.
“This game showed us that no matter how we start, we have to keep on going,” said Guzman, a senior forward. “We were able to bring things back and get the win. I missed a lot of shots, but I knew I just had to keep on going. It was hard and I was getting frustrated (missing those shots).”
Added teammate Jaime Martinez, a senior center midfielder, “We just have to remember to finish strong so we can go as far as possible in the playoffs.”
Shortly after their first goal, during the 53rd minute, the Chargers went ahead 2-1 on a well-executed set play as a free kick from the left side was driven in on the run by Jesus Muñiz.
Things continued to go in Brownsville Veterans’ favor as a knockdown call against the Falcons during the 69th minute resulted in a converted penalty kick by Gabriel Montoya to boost the lead to 3-1. Montoya sent a low roller into the right corner of the net before the Los Fresnos goalkeeper could react in time.
Los Fresnos narrowed the score to 3-2 with barely one minute left on a close-range shot by Erick Arellano, another freshman for the Falcons.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.