By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Just reaching the Region IV-6A Tournament is simply not enough for the Rivera Raiders and Los Fresnos Lady Falcons.
Actually, their soccer teams have been there and done that a few times already.
The Raiders (24-0) are playing at the regional tournament for the third straight year, and the Lady Falcons (28-3) are returning for the fourth time in six years.
They have some higher intentions in mind as they make their appearances Friday at the Region IV-6A Tournament at Brownsville Sports Park.
“We obviously feel blessed to have the opportunity to be back at the tournament,” said Lady Falcons coach Marissa Wood, whose team is back in the playoffs after a one-year absence. “A lot of hard work and sacrifice has gotten us to this point.
“To have it here at home (in Brownsville) is awesome,” she added. “We hope to do well and have a lot of support in the stands. It’s something the whole community can be a part of. The girls are excited to keep making history.”
The tournament’s girls semifinals begin at 1 p.m. Friday with District 32-6A champion Los Fresnos facing District 28-6A champion Corpus Christi Carroll. The other girls semifinal matches District 30-6A champion McAllen Memorial against District 26-6A champion San Antonio Reagan at 3 p.m. The winners play at 1 p.m. Saturday with a berth on the line at next week’s UIL state tournament in Georgetown.
The Reagan girls advanced to state one year ago as the Region IV-5A champion.
On the boys side Friday, 32-6A champion Rivera goes against 26-6A runner-up Reagan at 5 p.m. followed by District 31-6A runner-up PSJA North facing District 27-6A runner-up San Antonio Brandeis at 7 p.m. The winners meet at 3 p.m. Saturday, also for a trip to state.
The Raiders remember all too well the 3-2 loss they suffered against Lopez in last year’s regional final at Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio.
“It feels great that we’re back and have another chance,” said Israel Acero, a senior defender and three-year starter for the Raiders. “I think we have more of a chance this year than before. We have more chemistry, and we know this is our opportunity. We have to take it and just keep going game by game. We feel that we have the team and that we can keep going no matter what.
“It’s absolutely a good thing that the tournament is here again because we’ll have more fans here,” Acero added. “It’ll be better since we’ll have more support. We just have to stay humble and we’ll get there.”
Added teammate and fellow senior Isidro “Chelin” Martinez, an attacking center midfielder, “It means a lot to be going back (to the tournament) to me and every player on the team, especially the seniors, because we’ve been working hard since the day we lost in the regional final to Lopez last year. With the tournament here, we have an opportunity to show more people our soccer, our style and what we’re capable of doing.”
Along with the Raiders, the Lady Falcons believe this is their time as well.
“We have a really good team, and I think it’s even a better team than 2013 (when we last went to the regional tournament),” said Suzy Rodriguez, a senior outside midfielder for Los Fresnos. “We’ve worked hard for this. We hustle for each other and we love each other. We want to do it for each other, our coaches and our fans.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.