By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Friday could be quite an eventful night for the Pace soccer teams.
The Pace girls and boys play host to Mercedes at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, in District 32-5A competition.
A win over the Lady Tigers by the Lady Vikings will give them a second straight 32-5A championship. Winning back-to-back district titles is something that has never been accomplished before at Pace in girls soccer.
The Pace girls won district with a 14-0 record last season and advanced three rounds in the playoffs. Their goal is to at least go that far or farther this year.
After Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Donna High, the Lady Vikings are 9-2 with 28 points in 32-5A. Getting the full three points against Mercedes would give them 31 points and put them beyond the reach point-wise of any other team in the district.
“(If we win district again) I will be happy for my players because I know more than anyone else how hard they have worked for this and how much they have sacrificed to be where they are,” Lady Vikings coach Jesus O. Villarreal said. “I’ll congratulate them because they are a great group of girls with high aspirations on and off the field, and they make me proud all the time.”
This is a period of unparalleled success for Pace in girls soccer.
Another period of success came during the four seasons of 2008-2011, when the Lady Vikings under coach Valentin Mata made the playoffs four straight years and won a district title in 2009. During that span, the Pace girls won bi-district titles in the playoffs in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Another reason to celebrate for Pace on Friday would come if the boys defeat Mercedes, which will give Vikings coach Mario A. Zamora his 100th career coaching victory.
“I’m at 99 wins, and hopefully on Friday, I get my 100th,” said Zamora, who is in his fifth year of guiding the Pace boys.
32-5A UPDATE
Here are the most recent 32-5A boys standings: Valley View (10-1, 30 points), Brownsville Veterans Memorial (9-2, 27 points), Porter (7-4, 22 points), Pace (7-4, 21 points), Lopez (6-5, 17 points), Donna High (2-9, six points), Edcouch-Elsa (2-9, six points) and Mercedes (1-10, three points).
Here are the latest 32-5A girls standings: Pace (9-2, 28 points), Porter (8-3, 21 points), Lopez (7-4, 21 points), Brownsville Veterans (7-4, 21 points), Edcouch-Elsa (7-4, 20 points), Donna High (4-7, 14 points), Mercedes (2-9, six points) and Valley View (0-11, no points).
32-6A UPDATE
Here are the latest District 32-6A boys standings: Rivera (6-2, 18 points), San Benito (5-3, 14 points), Hanna (4-4, 14 points), Harlingen South (4-4, 12 points), Los Fresnos (3-5, seven points) and Harlingen High (2-6, seven points).
Here are the most recent 32-6A girls standings: Los Fresnos (7-1, 20 points), Harlingen South (6-2, 19 points), Hanna (5-2, 15 points), Harlingen High (4-4, 12 points), Rivera (1-6, three points) and San Benito (0-8, no points).
SPRING BREAK
District 32-6A will be open next week for Spring Break except for a 32-6A makeup game at 10 a.m. Monday at Hanna between the Lady Golden Eagles and Rivera Lady Raiders. The game was postponed when the Lady Raiders were involved in a bus accident going to Hanna to play on Feb. 26.
District 32-5A will play games on Monday and be off for the rest of the week.
After next week, only one date remains, Tuesday, March 19, for district games in 32-6A and 32-5A.