By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Things became just a bit more interesting in the District 32-6A boys soccer race Tuesday thanks to the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers.
The Chargers handed the Lopez Lobos their first district loss of the season, 2-0, at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Lobos (6-1, 18 points) are still leaders of 32-6A, but the setback allows other teams in the district, such as Brownsville Veterans (5-2, 16 points), to pull a little closer behind them.
The first round of district play is now over, and 32-6A takes a break Friday before starting the second round next Tuesday with the boys playing at 5:30 p.m. and the girls to follow at 7:30 p.m. the rest of the regular season
There was intensity and physical play the entire match between the Chargers and Lobos, basically just like every other 32-6A game.
Things turned in the Chargers’ favor with a little more than 14 minutes remaining in the first half when Jesus Muniz, positioned just to the left of the goal, received a teammate’s pass on a narrow angle from the far right side and promptly sent the ball into the net to put his team on top 1-0. It was his third goal in two games.
“This win feels good,” said Muniz, a senior forward who is coming off an ACL injury. “It’s what we have been working for. Lopez is in first place, and we’re trying to catch up to them.
“The team played its heart out, and that’s what we came here for,” Muniz added. “We struggled a little bit, but at the end we came out with the victory.”
It got pretty hectic down the stretch.
With nine minutes left, it appeared the Lobos might have scored a goal, but it wasn’t allowed. The Lopez players argued the call, particularly with the side referee, and one of them was red-carded so the Lobos played a man short the rest of the way.
With 1:06 left, the Lopez goalkeeper had to leave the match as a Brownsville Veterans player went down in the area when they collided as he attacked with the ball. The Chargers were awarded a penalty kick and Gabriel Montoya converted it to account for the 2-0 final score.
“The great thing about this one is it allows us to close out the first half of district with a win against a very good team,” Brownsville Veterans coach Alberto Vasquez said. “It was one of those games where they had a couple of (scoring) opportunities and we had some, too. We were just able to get a lucky bounce here and there so we could get the win.
“But it’s great,” he added. “My guys played their hearts out, and I’m extremely proud of them. They wanted the win, they were focused, they played their hearts out and they were able to achieve what they wanted. That’s probably the most important thing.”