By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
PORT ISABEL — The Port Isabel Lady Tarpons picked a good time to shine Thursday on Parents Night.
The Lady Tarpons scored three goals during each half to earn a 6-0 District 31-4A soccer victory against Raymondville at Tarpon Stadium.
Highlighting the win for Port Isabel was Estella Castillo, who finished with a hat trick by scoring her team’s first, fifth and sixth goals. Also for the Lady Tarpons, Ava Gomez scored two goals and Jenny Martinez tallied one.
“It was definitely a good game for us,” said Martinez, a junior midfielder. “Our fans came out and we showed them that we can win. We showed it on the field — 6-0. All our hard work in practice is paying off.
“I’m just very excited that we’re going back to the playoffs,” Martinez added. “I think we’re up to the challenge.”
The Lady Tarpons completed their district schedule with an 8-2 record in 31-4A, which was good enough for second place behind conference champion La Feria (9-1).
The Port Isabel girls next will have a warmup game before the Class 4A bi-district playoffs start March 23.
They are in their fourth season of playing UIL soccer and have qualified for the playoffs every year. They won their first postseason match a year ago and wound up advancing three rounds.
“I’m very proud of the girls and the season we’re having,” Lady Tarpons coach Jesus Cardenas said. “The girls are working hard. I know we didn’t accomplish our goal (of winning district for the first time), but as long as we’re in the playoffs, anything can happen. If we peak at the right time, hopefully we can make some magic happen and make Port Isabel proud.”
Castillo got things going for Port Isabel during the 24th minute when she dribbled in close near to the right post and sent a crossing shot past the goalkeeper and into the left corner of the net. Martinez made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute when a long pass from the right side came to her and she scored from the left side about eight yards out.
The Raymondville goalkeeper couldn’t secure the ball in the 39th minute and Gomez was there to punch it in from close range to make it 3-0 at halftime.
Dribbling in, getting the goalkeeper to commit and then scoring from close range was the way the Lady Tarpons scored all three of their goals in the second half — one by Gomez and the final two by Castillo during the 44th, 46th and 50th minutes.
“I really liked the communication we had between each other tonight,” said the Lady Tarpons’ Celia Garza, a sophomore midfielder. “I think we’ve improved from last year. We’re talking to each other more, especially on defense, and we have more passing, too. We’re also pushing the ball to the sides (to advance it), and I like that improvement that we’re doing as well.
“I feel our potential is about the same as last year (to do well in the playoffs), and maybe it’s even a little stronger this time,” Garza added. “If we keep practicing hard and playing well, I think we can do better. My team has improved, so hopefully we can go farther (in the postseason).”
BOYS GAME:
PI 2, RAYMONDVILLE 1 (PKs)
In the nightcap of Thursday’s District 31-4A doubleheader at Tarpon Stadium, the Port Isabel boys prevailed over Raymondville.
It was the final regular-season district game for both teams.
After a scoreless first half, the Tarpons went up 1-0 on a penalty kick in the 57th minute. The Bearkats tied it 1-1 on a medium-range goal in the 63rd minute.
After the match completed 100 minutes of regulation and overtime play with the score still deadlocked 1-1, the two teams went to penalty kicks.
Raymondville went first and came up without a goal on its first two PK tries. Meanwhile, the Tarpons converted their first three PK attempts and won when their goalkeeper stopped the fourth penalty shot try by the Bearkats.
The Tarpons won the PKs 3-1 and the official result was a 2-1 victory for Port Isabel.