By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
After more than holding their own throughout a demanding District 32-6A schedule, the Hanna Golden Eagles see themselves as ready for next week’s Class 6A soccer playoffs.
In bi-district, Hanna, the 32-6A runner-up, will go against District 31-6A third-place Edinburg North at noon on March 31. The match will be played on the Edinburg North campus.
“I see us as a pretty complete team from our goalie to our forwards,” said Hanna’s Hector Quintero, a senior midfielder on the wing and a team captain. “We have players who have been on the varsity for quite a while already, so I think we have a lot of potential (to do well) in the playoffs.
“(In 32-6A) we’ve gone against teams that give it their all and are always competitive,” added Quintero, who has played on the varsity three seasons. “Some of them play rough and that just helps us get ready for what we’re going to see in the playoffs. Every team (we face) is going to come with their all. It was a hard district. Not everything is always going to come easy, but we’re ready for the playoffs.”
The Hanna starting lineup includes Victor Villarreal at goalkeeper with Miguel Payan, Roberto Palomo and Jose Vidal out in front of him as defenders in protection of the goal. Center midfielders for the Eagles include Adir Ochoa, Pedro Aldair Hernandez and Kevin Ochoa with Quintero and Adrian Rodriguez on the wings. The forwards are Danny Rivera and Jose Pompa.
The main ones helping off the bench are forward/midfielder Axel Guzman, defenders Ariel Gonzalez and Victor Perez, and midfielder Osvaldo Serna.
Adir Ochoa was asked what he sees the team doing that is helping it enjoy success. The Eagles came within two points (38-36) of tying Rivera for the 32-6A title and were the only ones to defeat the Raiders in district play (3-2 on Feb. 20).
“We’re friends and we’re like a family,” said Adir Ochoa, a senior who is also a team captain along with Quintero and Hernandez. “We’ve been playing together for three or four years, so we’re playing together like a group seniors. We know more or less (as teammates) how each one plays and we all know the system that Coach (Reyes) Prado uses.
“I believe we have a team that can go far in the playoffs, not like last year,” added Ochoa, who is also a three-year member of the varsity. “We’ve prepared since the start of the season to have a better showing in playoffs than last year.”
The Eagles were district co-champions with Rivera last season, but got upset 3-1 by 31-6A third-place PSJA Memorial in the first round.
“We have something to prove since last year when we went out in bi-district,” Prado said. “We have a group of seniors who I think can lead us (on a deep playoff run). I’m pretty sure our guys remember last year (vs. PSJA Memorial). I know I remember it and I think they do, too. (Actually) we all remember that loss.”
Hanna will be going up against an Edinburg North team that advanced to the Region IV-6A final a year ago. In that match, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln edged the Cougars 1-0 in overtime to advance to the state tournament.
“Edinburg North is well-coached and has a lot of players coming back from its regional finalist team of a year ago,”Prado said. “They matched up well in their district and I believe we match up well with them (too).
“I think we’re peaking at the right time,” the Hanna coach added. “It’s been two weeks — actually three — since our last (district) game and that’s way too long. We have to see if we can stay in our rhythm for the playoffs and keep playing the way we’ve been playing lately. We’ll see how our players react (to the layoff). We have a senior group that wants us to do well.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess