By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Those who pass by the Porter campus on any given afternoon are seeing soccer balls flying through the air and bouncing around in great numbers as practice sessions for the upcoming high school season in January are well under way.
For some, maybe the start of soccer workouts Nov. 30, as per UIL rules, was of little consequence. But for others, such as the Cowboys and Cowgirls, it was quite the opposite.
“It was painful for us (waiting for practice to finally start),” said Enrique Soto, a senior midfielder and captain for the Cowboys. “Now we’re waiting very impatiently to play our first games and see the team that we’re going to have. We know we can do well and make it to state.
“For the ones of us who are seniors, this is our last opportunity to give it all we’ve got,” added Soto, a four-year member of the varsity. “We don’t want to be disappointed by not achieving it.”
There are once again strong numbers of soccer athletes on the practice fields these days at Porter, including nearly 120 boys and approximately 70 girls.
“Actually, this is the first time we’ve had this many girls,” Cowgirls coach Abraham Gracia said. “It’s about double what we’ve had before, and we’re still pending a few more girls who need their physicals.
“Practices have been going great,” he added. “The girls are showing up, and they’re dedicated.”
Under UIL rules, teams can start scrimmaging Dec. 28. The first regular-season matches are scheduled Jan. 7.
The aspirations of the Porter boys and girls are basically the same in that both teams want to make the playoffs.
More specifically for the Cowboys, going to state a fourth time is the primary goal. Porter advanced to state in 1984, 2006 and 2011. The Cowboys won it all and brought home a Class 5A state title in 2006.
It’s a different story for the Cowgirls. Since UIL girls soccer first came to the Rio Grande Valley in 1997, the Cowgirls have yet to reach the postseason. Over the years, there have been at least three or four times the Cowgirls appeared to be in good shape and so close to qualifying for the postseason, but for whatever reason it just didn’t happen.
Such was the situation last season as the Porter girls went 9-5 in District 32-5A and tied for fourth place with Pace. But the Lady Vikings wound up being the team going to the playoffs.
Things could change for the Cowgirls in 2016.
The Porter girls return six starters, including sophomore forward Priscila Cortinas, the All-Metro newcomer of the year after scoring 27 goals as a freshman.
“I’m excited because we’re looking good, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to make it far,” Cortinas said. “We communicate a lot, we’re making good passes and we get along, so that’s good.
“Making it to the playoffs — that’s our goal,” she added.
Other players with starting experience back include midfielders Lizbeth Garcia and Hilda Valdivieso, forward-midfielder Alexis Vega, defender Allysa Vega and goalkeeper Kassandra Reyes. There’s also a talented group of incoming freshmen who could make key contributions right away.
“With this team I feel that we have a lot of potential this season,” said Alexis Vega, who is coming back from an injury. “We’re a young team, but I know we’ll do well.”
There are also six starters returning for the Porter boys, who went 21-3-2 last season and advanced to the Region IV-5A tournament semifinals.
In addition to Soto, the other returning starters are defenders Anthony Cuellar and Robert Briseno, midfielders Daniel Briseno and Marco Don Juan, and forward Alexis Anzures, a standout senior goal scorer since his freshman year who is the cousin of Priscila Cortinas.
There are at least seven other players with varsity experience back as well. Senior midfielder Uriel Sepulveda, also a captain, is one of them. He had to battle through an injury last season.
“Now I’m back on my feet, and I’m ready to help out my team,” Sepulveda said. “It’s a privilege to play with these guys, and it’s a big challenge to earn a spot as a starter.
“What I like that I’m seeing is we’re becoming one (as a team),” he added. “Everyone wants to practice hard and everyone has that positive mentality that we need so that we can go and go and go and reach that (state) medal that we want.”
Cowboys coach Jose Espitia also likes what he’s witnessing with his squad so far.
“From what we’ve seen, we’re excited,” he said. “We lost some important players from last year, but this team has potential. I think we have a good group coming back.
“The intensity these guys are showing in practice and the motivation they have is awesome,” he added. “It’s something you like to see every time we train. That intensity transfers to the field, so I like seeing that.
“This team looks quick, united and determined to reach its goal.”
The Cowboys play their first scrimmage at 10 a.m. Dec. 29 against Lopez at Sams Memorial Stadium. For their first action, the Cowgirls have a tri-scrimmage scheduled the same day at 9 a.m. against Edinburg North and San Benito at San Benito.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.