By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The drama surrounding District 32-6A’s boys and girls soccer races seems to increase with each passing night of competition.
Now that the second round of district is under way, the races are becoming even tighter as evidenced by Tuesday’s results.
Harlingen South boys coach Julian Robles, a former assistant at Porter, pretty much summed up the sentiments of his fellow district coaches on Wednesday by saying, “The boys race is making my blood pressure worse. I was hoping to separate (from the other teams) a little, but anybody can beat anybody in 32-6A.
“I think determining these (four) playoff spots will come down to the last games (of the regular season) with nobody sweeping the district,” he added.
Robles’ Hawks (4-4, 14 points) suffered a 2-0 setback at home Tuesday against Brownsville Veterans Memorial (6-2, 19 points), the hottest team in the 32-6A boys race at the moment. The Chargers, winners of five straight, now share the 32-6A lead with Lopez (6-2, 19 points), which lost 2-1 in penalties Tuesday at Los Fresnos (5-3, 14 points).
Hanna (6-2, 16 points) won 3-0 at home Tuesday against San Benito (1-7, three points) to stay close behind the 32-6A co-leaders. Rivera (4-4, 11 points) captured a 4-1 victory Tuesday at Sams Memorial Stadium against Harlingen High (0-8, no points) and could be setting itself up to make a run for the playoffs during the second round.
The 32-6A girls race is every bit as close, especially since Los Fresnos rallied at home to defeat Lopez 2-1 Tuesday after losing to the Lady Lobos 3-0 Jan. 26 during the first round of district.
Tuesday’s outcome leaves the Lopez girls (7-1, 20 points) still in first place, but Los Fresnos and Harlingen South (both 6-2, 18 points) have pulled even closer to the Lady Lobos’ lead.
Either Brownsville Veterans or Hanna (both 4-4, 12 points) would seem to have a strong chance to secure a playoff spot. And if they stumble, San Benito (3-5, eight points) and Harlingen High (2-6, eight points) could make a move upward.
The second round of 32-6A action runs through mid-March.
STRONG 32-5A SHOWINGS
Porter and Pace, Brownsville’s District 32-5A teams, enjoyed continued success on Tuesday as the boys and girls squads from the two schools all won on the opening night of second-round competition.
The Porter boys, ranked No. 1 in the Rio Grande Valley by RGVSports.com, remained unbeaten in 32-5A at 8-0 with 24 points thanks to a 1-0 victory at home against Donna North on a goal by Marco Don Juan.
The Porter girls came next and captured a 3-0 triumph with goals by Allysa Vega, Susana Romero and Alexis Vega. It was an impressive win considering the Cowgirls lost to Donna North 1-0 during the opening round of district.
“It’s always an awesome feeling to win and start the second round on a good note,” Cowgirls coach Abraham Gracia said. “The girls played their hearts out. For now we’re just looking to take it one game at a time, and God willing, the results will come.”
Pace’s teams played at Mercedes and won handily as the boys triumphed 5-0 and the girls cruised to a 6-0 victory.
Pace’s boys are second behind Porter in district at 6-2 with 18 points. PSJA Southwest (7-1, 20 points) leads the 32-5A girls race followed in second place by Pace (6-2, 17 points) and Porter (5-3, 17 points). Edcouch-Elsa (5-3, 16 points) is fourth.
SUPPORT FOR THE BLOODHOUNDS
St. Joseph Academy coach Tino Villarreal said as his soccer team prepared to play Addison Trinity Christian in Tuesday’s TAPPS state semifinal at San Antonio, he received wishes for success from a number of people, including other coaches. The Bloodhounds suffered a 3-2 loss.
He said the support was greatly appreciated.
“I have nothing but positive things to say about our players, our school and everyone who supported us,” Villarreal said. “I did receive a lot of calls from coaches around the Valley who wanted to wish us luck. They said they were proud of the name we’re making for soccer in the Rio Grande Valley and for representing it at a high level (of the playoffs).”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess