By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The Lopez Lobos, Porter Cowboys and Progreso Red Ants found out who their opponents will be in the state seminfal matches of this week’s UIL state soccer tournament when pairings were announced Sunday.
The state tournament begins Wednesday and runs through Saturday at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Field.
Region IV-5A champion Porter (26-0-1) plays its Class 5A state semifinal against Region I-5A champion El Paso Eastlake (22-2-1) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The Porter-Eastlake winner will face the Region II-5A champion Frisco Wakeland (24-0-1) or Region III-5A Pflugerville Connally (19-5-2), who play their state semifinal at 5 p.m. Thursday.
The 5A state final is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
“Well, at this point, every team will be tough,” Porter coach Jose Espitia said. “(El Paso) Eastlake is in the final four for a reason. I know El Paso is an area similar to Brownsville, so we expect to face a team very similar to us in style and ball-handling skills.”
Porter earned its berth at state by rallying to defeat Pace 2-1 in overtime in the Region IV-5A tournament final at Corpus Christi.
In the Class 6A division at state, Region IV-6A champion Lopez (21-2-1) goes against Region II-6A champion Austin Lake Travis (24-1) in a semifinal match at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The other 6A semifinal matchup has Region I-6A champion Coppell (22-0-3) facing Region III-6A runner-up Katy Cinco Ranch (18-2-5) at 5 p.m. Friday.
The 6A state final is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Lobos prevailed 1-0 in a closely contested match against San Antonio Reagan in the Region IV-6A tournament final at Brownsville Sports Park.
“Winning like this (with a late goal against Reagan) gives us motivation for where we’re going,” Lopez attacking midfielder Jose “Chevy” Echavarria said. “We know there are going to be some tough teams over there at state.”
“At this point, all the teams at the state tournament are going to be evenly matched,” Lopez coach Amadeo Escandon said. “We hope that these last two games (against Reagan and Schertz Clemens at the past weekend’s regional tournament) have helped prepare us for that particular style of play (that we expect from Lake Travis).”
Rounding out the field of three Rio Grande Valley teams at state is first-time qualifier Progreso, which came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Giddings 3-2 in the Region IV-4A tournament final at McAllen.
The Region IV-4A champs the Red Ants (21-5-2) play Region I-4A champion Argyle (19-1-2) in a Class 4A state semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. The other 4A state semifinal has Region III-6A champion Palestine (28-1-2) playing Region II-6A champion Kilgore (19-1-7) at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The 4A state final is set for 2:30 p.m. Friday.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess