FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Harlingen High goalkeeper Rick Deleon kept the Cardinals in the game as long as he could with some incredible saves against Brownsville Hanna on Friday evening at Boggus Stadium.
However, Danny Rivera and Jose Pompa scored one goal a piece to give the Golden Eagles a 2-1 victory over the Harlingen Cardinals.
The win kept the Golden Eagles in the hunt for the District 32-6A title with a record of 10-3 and 30 points. They are now tied for first place with Brownsville Rivera, who defeated Los Fresnos 3-1.
“We’re playing good, but Harlingen had a lot to do with it, too,” said Brownsville Hanna head soccer coach Reyes Prado. “Harlingen’s record doesn’t reflect the type of team they have. They’re well coached and they came out here to win and it definitely affected the way we played.”
Hanna scored the first goal of the night. In the first half, Hanna’s Rivera found the back of the net after finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper to put the Golden Eagles up 1-0.
However, Harlingen responded quickly with a goal of its own. Just minutes after going down 1-0, the Cardinals’ Jesus Reyna found himself inside the box and fired in a shot that got past the Hanna goalkeeper.
Unfortunately for Harlingen, that would be the last goal the Cards scored. Hanna’s Pompa added another goal just eight minutes into the second half giving the Golden Eagles a 2-1 lead.
HAWKS PARTY LIKE IT’S 2011: Friday night’s matchup against Weslaco East was more than just a game for the Harlingen South Hawks, it was an opportunity to clinch a playoff birth. Something the Hawks hadn’t done since 2011.
Behind the legs of four different goal scorers, Harlingen South did just that by beating East 6-1 to secure the fourth seed in District 32-6A.
Robert Rodriguez scored three goals, Zachary Fayyad had 1 goal, Sean Muniz also had 1 and Joshua Jackson scored one more to all lead the Hawks.
“It is an incredible feeling to see the players’ happiness,” said Harlingen South head soccer coach Julian Robles. “They had years of frustration of not making the playoffs. Making it in a tough District 32-6A only makes it that much sweeter.
“The players deserve all the credit since they have worked hard all year.”
Harlingen finishes off the regular season on Monday at home against Brownsville Rivera at 11:30 a.m.