By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
It’s Brownsville vs. Laredo in today’s semifinals of the inaugural Southmost Classic boys soccer tournament.
Lopez and Porter are hosts of the three-day, 10-squad event, which featured pool play in two five-team groups on Thursday and Friday.
The top two teams from each pool after Friday’s action advanced to today’s 10 a.m. semifinals. The tournament championship is set for noon at Porter.
Porter won Pool A and Laredo LBJ was the runner-up. In Pool B, the winner was Lopez, while Laredo United South was the second-place finisher.
In today’s 10 a.m. semifinals, it’s Porter vs. United South at Porter and Lopez vs. LBJ at Lopez.
The tournament format for pool play awarded points to teams based on wins, ties, shutouts and number of goals scored. The matches have 30-minute halves.
Lopez (35 points) was a decisive winner in Pool B by going 4-0 in its pool-play games, while United South (25 points) took second by going 2-2. It was a bit closer at Porter, where the Cowboys (25 points) won a pair of games and tied two matches, while LBJ (18 points) won once and tied three times.
Porter coach Jose Epitia said his young team is gaining varsity experience with each game.
“We’re having to fix a lot of things (to be successful), but at the end of the day, that’s what you want,” Espitia said. “You want to fix things before district. For us, these games are a test because that’s what we’re going to face once we get into District (32-5A later this month).
“We were ahead in all (four) of our games and we’ve been struggling to take care of the score (and protect the lead), especially near the end,” Espitia added. “We were leading twice and wound up tying. We need to control the game and stay ahead.”
On Friday, Porter tied LBJ 1-1 as Ossiris Hernandez tallied the Cowboys’ lone goal. Against Los Fresnos in a 3-1 win, Oscar Garcia, Brandon Cantu and Hernandez scored the goals for Porter.
Lopez opened Friday with a 5-2 triumph over United South as the Lobos were led by Baltazar Cerda’s hat trick. Teammates Alan Reyes and Jafet Morales each added a solo tally. Against Laredo United later in the day in a 2-1 victory, Lopez’s goals were scored by Ramon Sauceda and Jose “Chevy” Echavarria.
“We’re just trying to fix the mistakes that we’re making and build upon the correct things we’re doing,” Lopez coach Amadeo Escandon said. “We’re still a work in progress and we still have a long way to go.
“It’s going to be a good semifinal game (against LBJ),” he added.
In Friday’s other three pool-play games at Porter, Los Fresnos defeated Edinburg North 3-1, McAllen High and LBJ tied 2-2 and Edinburg North edged McAllen High 1-0. The Cougars prevented McAllen High from reaching the semifinals.
Leo Ocana had Los Fresnos’ lone goal against Porter, while teammates Jose Casanova, Obed Sepulveda and Enrigue Rodriguez each scored a goal against Edinburg North.
“There’s been good competition at this tournament,” said Falcon coach Javier Navarrete, whose team plays a consolation game against Laredo United at 9 a.m. today at Porter. “The weather has been nice, too.”
At Lopez, Friday’s other three matches saw Harlingen South down Laredo United 2-1, United South shut out La Joya High 2-0 and La Joya High edge Harlingen South 2-1.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess