By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Two of this season’s top soccer players for the Rivera Raiders are moving on to play their sport in college.
Julian Espinoza and Roberto “Tito” Melendez signed college scholarship agreements Tuesday morning at Rivera to play next school year at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and Laredo Community College, respectively.
Both are four-year members of the Rivera varsity and were freshmen in 2015 when the Raiders captured the inaugural UIL Class 6A boys state soccer title with a 28-0 record.
Since then, their presence in the program has been a big plus for the Raiders, who won the District 32-6A title this year and returned to the Region IV-6A Tournament in San Antonio before finishing the season with a 22-5-4 record.
UTRGV plays NCAA Division I soccer and LCC is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association. Rivera has sent players to both colleges in the past. Most notably, the Raiders’ Isidro “Chelin” Martinez signed with UTRGV in 2015.
Rivera coach Salvador Garcia is pleased to see two more of his senior players sign to play at the next level. He said they each brought the kind of character qualities to the team that made it successful.
“More than anything else, we’re going to miss the leadership of Julian and ‘Tito,’” Garcia said. “Talent is something you can many times replace, but leadership is something these guys have along with talent, and it’s hard to find players like that.
“But we’ll try our best (to replace them),” he added. “That’s all we can do.”
Espinoza, who has been hampered by injuries the past two seasons, plays attacking midfielder and recently was named MVP of 32-6A for the second straight year. Melendez, a central defender, was the defensive MVP in 32-6A this season after earning first-team all-district honors at his position a year ago.
Espinoza said the Raiders are disappointed they couldn’t bring home another state championship this season and added everything happens for a reason.
“God’s timing is perfect,” said Espinoza, who plans to pursue a degree in engineering at UTRGV. “I have another step (ahead of me) to play soccer in college, where I can win something even better than a state title (by earning a degree).
“I’ve been so nervous, particularly last night, because I never thought I’d be signing with UTRGV,” Espinoza added. “I was hoping I could go play at the Division I level (and now that it’s happened) I’m really going to take advantage of it.
“I’ve been told it’s really different than high school soccer. The game in college is a whole lot faster, but I feel I’ve gotten a good preparation here at Rivera and I hope to play this summer for the (semi-pro) Brownsville Coyotes, too.”
Melendez said he plans to study law enforcement with the intent of becoming a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
“I’ve been working hard since my freshman year, so this (signing) is an honor,” he said. “I want to continue my education and I’ve put all my hard work into this, especially this year because I knew that it would be very important for colleges to see me play (as a senior).
“Thanks to God, I got this opportunity,” Melendez added. “I’ve been anxiously waiting for this moment and finally it came. Actually, things have gone by pretty fast, and today is a moment to remember.
“It’s going to be a whole different environment over there (playing at the college level), but all the guys that left from here have been able to play soccer over there (in Laredo), so that motivates me that I can do well over there, too.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess