GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
With a strong core of returning varsity players at his disposal, first-year Donna North coach Andres Sanchez wanted to make only one small tweak heading into 2016.
He needed more players involved on the defensive end, with midfielders and forwards playing a bigger role in limiting opponents’ space to attack.
“The problem was the defense was not able to hold their ground, especially in close games,” Sanchez said. “The majority of the changes were the way we defended. … That’s been working out for us the last three games.”
With Brayan Zamora leading the charge on defense, the Chiefs have notched three consecutive shutouts in regulation, last allowing a goal against Mercedes on Feb. 26. The effort on the back end is a primary reason Donna North is in position to reach the playoffs in Sanchez’s first season.
“It was a little bit difficult at the beginning to get accepted by them,” Sanchez said. “But little by little we got together, and after our tournament in San Antonio, we came back as a team, and that helped us throughout the season.”
Zamora is one of 14 senior returners on the Donna North roster, alongside standouts Gabriel Magallan at forward and Luis Martinez at keeper.
Magallan has scored a team-best 14 goals on an array of long shots, drives to the net and even headers, while Martinez has earned the trust of the Chiefs defense with his steady play.
North currently sits fourth in the District 32-5A standings with 20 points, although Donna High is nipping at its heels with 18. The two teams will square off Friday in the penultimate match of the district season.
“Giving more importance to that one game would probably stress them out more, and they’d be more prone to making mistakes, so I try to minimize it,” Sanchez said. “The best team should win, and I believe we are the best team right now.”
STRONG IN BACK
As a young offense has sometimes struggled to find goals, Edinburg Economedes has leaned on the strong defensive tandem of Jonathan Segundo and Victor Cardenas.
Their ability to limit opposing scorers has been critical to keeping the Jaguars in a hotly contested District 31-6A playoff race.
“They both work very hard to keep it together and keep the defense strong,” Economedes coach Sam Gonzalez said. “They’re fighters. They fight. They do their best, so that’s why some of the strength is with the defense.”
With Economedes returning only about five players from a senior-laden group that earned the district’s third seed last season, Segundo and Cardenas are trying to bring the team together.
Segundo, a sophomore, and Cardenas, a junior, played only sparingly on varsity last season before stepping up this year.
“The strength of the team more than anything has been that they never give up,” Gonzalez said. “They’ve been constantly working on trying to get together.”
Economedes is 4-5, good for 13 points and a fifth-place standing in District 31-6A with three games remaining on the schedule. The Jaguars will need to pass either Weslaco East (6-3, 14 points), Weslaco High (5-4, 16 points) or Edinburg North (6-4, 18 points) to qualify for the postseason.
“They feel that pressure,” Gonzalez said. “They know they have to win, but you can’t be frustrated to win. You have to play smart.”
HEATING UP
La Joya Palmview’s boys picked up a pair of wins this week to vault from sixth to fourth in the District 30-6A standings as the season enters its final stretch of games.
The Lobos have 14 points, with McAllen Memorial and Mission High tied for fifth place with 10. La Joya High (18 points) and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (15) rank just ahead of the Lobos. La Joya High has two games to play, while the others have three.
Many of the girls playoff races are also tight down the stretch, with the bottom five teams in District 31-6A (PSJA North, PSJA Memorial, Weslaco East, Weslaco High and Edinburg High) separated by just six points.
In District 31-5A, Valley View (15 points), Mission Veterans (12), Edinburg Vela (12) and Roma (10) are all fighting for two playoffs spots with two games remaining.
Boys Top 10
1. Brownsville Porter
2. Sharyland High
3. Valley View
4, Brownsville Veterans
5. McAllen High
6. Brownsville Lopez
7. Brownsville Hanna
8. Weslaco East
9. PSJA Memorial
10. Brownsville Rivera
Girls Top 10
1. Sharyland High
2. Sharyland Pioneer
3. Los Fresnos
4. McAllen High
5, McAllen Memorial
6. Brownsville Lopez
7. Harlingen South
8. Edinburg Economedes
9. Brownsville Veterans
10. Brownsville Pace