By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Porter started the match on the aggressive side against Edinburg Vela and it paid off.
The Porter Cowboys’ attacking approach put two first-half goals on the board and it was enough to defeat the Edinburg Vela Sabercats 2-0 in a boys soccer bi-district match at Brownsville Sports Park.
“We thought that Edinburg Vela was going to come out here and play defensive style soccer,” Porter coach Jose Espitia said. “So we wanted to come out here and pressure them and pressure them and put them in a situation where they were going to make mistakes down there in their defensive end. We wanted to attack throughout the game. Of course we were going to be running risks, but we did that to see if we could score early goals, which we did and we were able to maintain the lead.”
Porter was moving the ball fluidly through the Edinburg Vela defense and kept the pressure on the Sabercats goalkeeper all evening.
The Cowboys continued to fire shots until finally finding the back of the net in the 16th minute. Alexis Anzures took a pass from about 20 yards out and lofted the ball toward the goal. The Sabercats goalkeeper jumped but didn’t reach it as it went in just under the top bar on the left side of the goal to give Porter a 1-0 advantage.
Edinburg Vela was kept out of rhythm offensively with just a few chances in the first half because of the Cowboy’s defense. The Sabercats had just one shot on goal in the first half and finished with just a handful for the match.
“Our defense played a great game (Thursday),” Espitia said. “When it comes to the playoffs, that’s what you want from your guys. Our three defenders played a heck of a game.”
Porter continued on the attack and later found a hole in the Edinburg Vela defense. In the 38th minute, Alexis Armendariz broke loose of a defender and beat the goalkeeper, tapping in a soft shot from a few yards out to give the Cowboys a 2-0 lead shortly before the break.
“It’s a very good team, we knew what was coming, we prepared for them,” Edinburg Vela coach Americo Cortez said. “We had our chances. We could have tied it; we had two or three chances. (On defense,) it was a lack of concentration for a few minutes.”
Porter continued its offensive attack in the second half, but didn’t convert after the break.
Down by two goals, Edinburg Vela had to take more chances in the second half. The Sabercats had a few scoring opportunities, including three corner kicks, but didn’t find the net in the playoff loss.
“We had to play a little differently in the second half, we had to open up a little more,” Cortez said. “Our defense stepped it up in the second half, we played a lot better.
“I’m very proud of my boys, they played a very good game. Hopefully we’ll be back next year.”
The Cowboys coach was happy that a pair of first-half goals was enough against the Sabercats.
“In the playoffs, one goal is enough as long as you win and keep advancing,” Espitia said. “We were expecting a team that was very physical, very quick and pressure us throughout the game and that’s what we had. (The score of) 2-0 was good enough.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.