By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Friday promises to be quite an eventful day of district soccer showdowns for Brownsville boys and girls teams, particularly those from Hanna, Lopez, Porter and Pace.
Undefeated District 32-6A leaders square off at Hanna on Friday as the Lopez girls and boys come visiting for matches against the Eagles’ squads at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
For the boys, Lopez (3-0, nine points) and Hanna (3-0, eight points) have emerged as the early front-runners in the 32-6A race. Friday’s winner will be the only remaining unbeaten squad in the standings.
“It should be one of those exciting soccer matches which any soccer aficionado longs to watch,” Lopez coach Amadeo Escandon said. “They are undefeated and so are we, and that adds to the level of interest.
“They have most of their key players back from last year and are well-coached, so again, it will be a great game for the fans, but nerve wracking for the coaches,” Escandon added.
Hanna coach Reyes Prado sees the matchup much the same way.
“Our match vs. Lopez should be very intense and should be decided and won by the team that makes less mistakes,” Prado said. “Aside from it being a hard-fought match, it’s (actually) only one more intense district match (of the many on our schedule). I hope we can keep playing our style, and may the best team win.”
Hanna’s boys are coming off Tuesday’s 1-0 victory in penalty kicks against Brownsville Veterans Memorial. It was scoreless through the end of overtime and the Golden Eagles prevailed 5-4 on PKs. Lopez defeated Rivera 2-0 Tuesday.
The circumstances of undefeated 32-6A leaders colliding is exactly the same for the 5:30 p.m. girls match between Hanna (3-0, nine points) and Lopez (3-0, eight points). Only one unbeaten in the 32-6A standings will remain after Friday.
“Both teams have the desire to win as they are both of a competitive nature,” Lady Eagles coach Jose Morales said. “Regardless of how each team has prepared, I think it will come down to who is focused and on target that night to take advantage of the other.
“It will be high scoring without a doubt,” he added. “We will bring an offensive game, and our girls will look for counterattacks. We have a variety of girls scoring, and that is our advantage.”
The Lady Eagles got past Brownsville Veterans 3-2 on Tuesday, and the Lady Lobos shut out Rivera 3-0.
PACE VS. PORTER: A District 32-5A girls-boys doubleheader Friday at Porter promises to be equally eventful as the one at Hanna with unbeaten conference records on the line as well. The girls from Pace and Porter play at 6 p.m., followed by the boys match at 8 p.m.
Through three games in 32-5A boys action, only Pace and Porter are undefeated. Each is 3-0 with nine points.
The Cowboys stayed perfect in 32-5A with Tuesday’s 1-0 victory at PSJA Southwest. The Vikings won at home 4-0 against PSJA High the same night.
“Right now I see the game as being between the two undefeated teams from our district, and that we are going to play against a team ranked (No. 1) in the Valley,” Pace coach Mario A. Zamora said. “But as soon as the whistle blows to start the match on Friday, it’s going to be an 11 vs. 11 (city rivalry), and I expect a great match from both teams.”
Cowboys coach Jose Espitia said the city rivalry aspect of Friday’s match just adds more intensity to it.
“It’s going to be interesting,” Espitia said. “When it comes to high school soccer, there’s nothing more intense than a district game vs. a Brownsville school.
“Pace is currently tied with us for first, and we expect them to come and give us another game like the one we had in the regional quarterfinals last year (that we won 2-1 in penalty kicks),” he added. “We know that they come with a complete team and have been anxiously waiting for this day. At the same time, we feel very excited because these are the games that better prepare us for the playoffs.
“In these games, the fans end up being the winners because these rivalries are always enjoyable to watch.”
The Lady Vikings (3-0, nine points) will try to retain a perfect 32-5A record by prevailing against the Cowgirls (1-2, four points), who are coming off Tuesday’s impressive 1-0 road win at PSJA Southwest. The same night the Pace girls won 4-1 at home against PSJA High.
Besides Pace, the only other undefeated girls team in 32-5A at this point is defending district champion Donna North (3-0, eight points).
OTHER MATCHUPS: Along with Friday’s district doubleheader showdowns scheduled at Hanna and Porter, there are some additional games of interest in the Metro area.
Among them is a 32-6A boys match at 7:30 p.m. Friday that has Harlingen South (1-2, four points) playing Rivera (2-1, five points) at Sams Memorial Stadium. It could wind up being a playoff-eliminator type of match.
Also, the Brownsville Veterans girls and boys are at San Benito. The Chargers and Lady Chargers have been hanging in there in their 32-6A matches. The boys (1-2, four points) have played three straight district games that went to penalties, winning one of them and losing two.
The Lady Chargers (1-2, three points) are missing top defender Tory Morales, who is out with an ankle injury.
“Some girls have stepped up (in her absence),” Lady Chargers coach Luis Troncoso said. “She still has about another full week before we can get her back, or maybe even sooner.”
CRUCIAL ROAD MATCH: The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds play a key TAPPS match at 2 p.m. Saturday at San Antonio Central Catholic. The Buttons are SJA’s top district rival in TAPPS this season.
The Bloodhounds are coming off Tuesday’s 2-0 win at home against Marine Military Academy.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.