By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
It’s been quite a challenging week on the soccer field in District 32-5A competition for the Brownsville Veterans Memorial boys and girls, especially the Chargers.
Despite some pretty thick fog Friday, the Chargers prevailed against crosstown rival Porter 3-1 at Lopez to retain the 32-5A lead with a 5-0 record and 14 points. The Cowboys slipped to 3-2 with nine points.
In the opener of Friday’s 32-5A doubleheader at Lopez, the Lady Chargers shut out the Cowgirls 2-0.
The Brownsville Veterans boys took control right away in the opening half by scoring goals in the first, ninth and 39th minutes to lead 3-0 at intermission. The goals were scored by Alberto Maradiaga, Diego Bernal and Orlando Sanchez.
Edward Rodriguez scored for Porter seven minutes into the second half to make it 3-1.
It could have become a lot more interesting midway through the second half as Porter was awarded a penalty kick on a tripping call against the Chargers in the penalty area. But Brownsville Veterans goalkeeper Moises Navarro blocked the PK and preserved the Chargers’ two goal advantage at 3-1, which eventually was the final score.
On Tuesday, the Brownsville Veterans boys rallied from a 3-1 deficit in regulation to defeat Lopez on penalty kicks 4-3 as Navarro stopped two of the Lobos’ five penalty tries.
It was an emotional win Tuesday for the Chargers.
Brownsville Veterans coach Alberto Vasquez wasn’t sure just how energized his team would be against the Cowboys after such a draining victory Tuesday, but the Chargers showed him there was really no need to be concerned.
“We were expecting a very tough week (against 32-5A contenders Lopez and Porter),” Vasquez said. “After having used all the emotion we put into winning against Lopez on Tuesday, I thought our players might feel it against Porter. You could tell in the second half that our guys were a little bit worn down.”
Porter has a new-look starting lineup with some underclassmen as five starters have been dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons, Cowboys coach Jose Espitia said.
“We were expecting to see one of the best Brownsville Veterans teams we’ve seen in recent years, and they were,” Espitia said. “They did some really good plays there in the beginning and they caught us off guard.
“We’re currently going through some changes (with new people in the lineup),” Espitia added. “We’re just going forward with a young team. I know it was a loss tonight, but I thought we played well.”
Meanwhile, the challenges come quite often in 32-5A for the Lady Chargers as well.
Another one presented itself Friday against the Cowgirls.
A pair of goals early in the second half by Samantha Bodden and Hannah Obregon proved to be the difference as the Brownsville Veterans girls prevailed 2-0.
After suffering a disappointing 2-1 setback against Edcouch-Elsa two Fridays ago, the Lady Chargers felt better about themselves this week with their shutout of Porter on Friday that was preceded by Tuesday’s 3-1 triumph against Lopez.
Against Porter, Bodden fired a ground-level shot into the net from the left side during the 45th minute from about 15 yards out. Bodden’s score was followed a minute later by Obregon’s goal on another ground-level shot that was taken from about the same location as Bodden’s.
Despite an injury to sweeper Kassie Jimenez that took her out of the lineup, the Lady Chargers’ defense stepped up to keep Porter standout scorer Priscila Cortinas and her teammates from ever finding the net.
“This was a very difficult game for us because Porter plays everyone very tough,” Lady Chargers coach Luis Troncoso said. “It was a 2-0 score, but it was a very close game.
“Any time you’re able to contain or at least take away scoring opportunities from another Brownsville team, especially one like Porter that has a player like Priscila, you have to feel good about what you’re doing,” Troncoso added. “We know how difficult it is to keep Priscila marked. I think we did a pretty good job with that tonight, so that was a good thing.
“We understand other teams (in 32-5A) have great scorers, too, so we just have to stay ready for every opportunity they might get and try our best to take those chances away.”
The Lady Chargers improved to 3-2 in 32-5A with nine points. The Cowgirls slipped to 2-3 with six points.