By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Porter Cowgirls took care of business.
On a wet, rainy Tuesday night at Pace, the Cowgirls assured themselves of a return to the state playoffs in soccer by defeating the Lady Vikings 2-0.
The Porter girls finished District 32-5A play with a 10-4 record and 26 points, which is good enough for fourth place.
Regardless of what happened, the Lady Vikings (11-3, 34 points) already had clinched their second straight 32-5A championship.
A pair of headers off corner kicks during the first half lifted the Cowgirls to victory.
“We had good communication and good passes tonight,” said Porter’s Kassandra Demetrio, a senior forward/midfielder. “We did what our coach (Abraham Gracia) asked us to do.
“Even though we’ve been in the playoffs four years, we still get excited,” Demetrio added.
Four minutes into the match, the Porter girls went ahead 1-0 when freshman Denisse Romero headed in a corner kick taken from the left side.
It was the same type of scoring play with a little less than two minutes remaining in the first half as Romero headed in a corner kick taken from the right side. It provided a 2-0 lead for the Cowgirls.
The Lady Vikings played their starters but couldn’t overcome the two goals that were scored off corner kicks.
“This was a good game for our girls to get some momentum (for the playoffs),” Gracia said. “Pace is a tough team and a tough competitor. Our girls came out to play today after the seniors spoke to them before the game (and gave them motivation).
“We’ll see what happens now (in the playoffs),” Gracia added.
Quetzali Cortez, a senior left defender for the Cowgirls, is happy to be returning to the playoffs.
“The difference tonight was we actually had more communication than in other games,” she said. “We played our game. We didn’t just kick it around.
“We have a lot of potential to make it far in the playoffs,” Cortez added.
The postseason starts March 28. The Cowgirls are expected to face Sharyland Pioneer in the bi-district round.
It was a sweep for the Porter teams Tuesday at Pace as the Cowboys took the nightcap of the 32-5A doubleheader 3-1 against the Vikings.
Both the Porter and Pace boys are headed to the playoffs, just like their girls teams.
The Cowboys ended their district schedule with a 10-4 record and 31 points. Pace winds up 8-6 with 24 points.
The playoffs start March 28 as well for the boys.