By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Four St. Joseph Academy soccer players have earned TAPPS first-team all-state honors.
They are midfielders Andres Rico and Jose Kauachi, defender Mario Garcia and goalkeeper Mario Ramirez.
It’s the second straight year for Rico, Kauachi and Ramirez to be named first-team all-state. Rico is a senior and the other three are juniors.
The Bloodhounds went 18-6-1 this season and reached the TAPPS state semifinals for the second consecutive season, losing 3-2 to eventual state champion Addison Trinity Christian on Feb. 23 in San Antonio. Trinity Christian defeated Plano Pope John Paul II in the state final, 2-1, on Feb. 26.
“This type of recognition feels good, and it’s a huge honor for our boys,” SJA coach Tino Villarreal said. “We have a very diverse pool of talent in TAPPS Division I. There are experienced players from places like Germany that play for Houston Awty International and very talented club players from the Dallas area who play at private schools there. So for us to receive this type of recognition means a lot.
“It’s the most recognition we’ve gotten,” he added. “Coaches couldn’t vote for their own players, so it means our team and our players are earning respect (around the state).”
Named second-team all-state for the Bloodhounds was Gerardo Moses, a senior forward who led SJA with 24 goals. Kauachi was second on the team with 18.
SJA players receiving all-state honorable mention were senior midfielder Gerardo Elizondo and sophomore sweeper Rodrigo Sanchez.
Also, TAPPS all-district selections were announced and include seven SJA players on the first team. They are Rico, Elizondo, Moses, Kauachi, Garcia, Ramirez and Sanchez.
SJA’s Anuar Atiye and Luis Amaro earned second-team all-district honors. All-district honorable mentions for the Bloodhounds are Abram Caram, Miguel Guerra, Pedro Coronado and Pablo Zolezzi.
32-5A SHOWDOWNS
Porter and Pace have emerged as top teams in District 32-5A boys and girls soccer.
The crosstown rivals meet Friday at Pace for a doubleheader with the boys playing at 6 p.m. and the girls at 8 p.m.
For the boys, Porter (10-0, 30 points), the Valley’s top-ranked team, leads the district and Pace (8-2, 24 points) is second. The Lady Vikings (8-2, 23 points), Cowgirls (7-3, 23 points) and PSJA Southwest (8-2, 23 points) are 32-5A tri-leaders after Tuesday’s results.
The Cowgirls are the only team to defeat PSJA Southwest in district so far this season, winning by a pair of 1-0 scores both home and away, including Tuesday at Porter.
The Porter girls are No. 10 in the RGVSports.com Top 10 Valley rankings this week for the first time in their soccer program’s history. Their focus now is on Pace, a team they defeated 1-0 during the first round of district on Feb. 5.
“It’s going to be a good game,” Cowgirls coach Abraham Gracia said. “City (rivalry) games are always full of action and it can go either way. I think it’s going to come down to who wants it most.”
For his part, Lady Vikings coach Jesus O. Villarreal said, “Definitely it will be a showdown with both teams making history (by sharing the district lead and contending for the playoffs).”
VETERAN MOVES
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial boys and girls are making strong pushes for the postseason. That was evident Tuesday as the boys and girls both won at Hanna. The Chargers prevailed 2-1 and the Lady Chargers won 2-0.
It was the seventh straight victory for the Chargers, who share the District 32-6A lead with Lopez. Both teams are 8-2 with 25 points.
“The fact that we started the first round with three ties (in games that led to penalty kicks where we won once and lost twice) was a tough way to begin district,” Chargers coach Alberto Vasquez said. “Starting the second round with three wins is something we really wanted.
“We wanted to make sure we didn’t have a repeat of how we started the first round,” he added. “It’s nice, especially since it’s been wins against teams that we lost to (such as Hanna and Rivera) in the first round, even though it was on PKs.”
The Lady Chargers (6-4, 18 points), tied for third in 32-6A with Harlingen South, are moving forward despite injuries that have forced lineup changes.
“I think the main difference for us has been that the players coming off the bench have really stepped up and provided the support that we need at times,” Lady Chargers coach Luis Troncoso said. “We’ve had a couple of girls go out with injuries. We’ve had to bring in some subs and they’ve responded very well. I’m proud of our girls.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess