By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Rivera Raiders have a tradition to live up to in soccer, and that’s just what they’re doing.
Qualifying for the state playoffs is something the Raiders have done 27 times out of 28 seasons, including this one. During that span, the only time Rivera missed out on the postseason was 2009.
With one District 32-6A game remaining at home Tuesday against Harlingen High, the Raiders already have clinched their third straight district championship. It’s Rivera’s fourth district title in five years, and it goes back to the team’s 2015 season, when the Raiders won Texas’ first Class 6A state championship in boys soccer with a 28-0 record.
This season, thanks to a new artificial turf field, the Raiders are playing home games on their campus for the first time in six seasons. Before, due to the poor condition of their natural grass field, they played home matches at Sams Memorial Stadium and Brownsville Sports Park.
The Raiders are 15-6-3 overall and leading 32-6A with a 7-2 record and 21 points.
“We want to keep improving and continue succeeding,” said Salvador De Leon Jr., a junior defensive midfielder for the Raiders. “Winning district is a good accomplishment, but we’re not satisfied with it. We want to do more. Our (ultimate) goal would be state, of course.
“At the beginning of the season a lot of other teams doubted us,” he added. “Now we want to prove a point in the playoffs and show who we really are. We want to show we’re a strong team and put fear into other teams.
“We’ve seen this team improve a lot since the beginning of the season. Most importantly, we’re believing in our coach (Salvador Garcia) and going into our games with the right mentality. We always want to keep our coach happy (by playing well).”
It was a rough start to district for Rivera back in early February. The Raiders lost two of their first three matches and were 1-2. Since then, they’ve won six consecutive games in the six-team district.
“We’re playing as a team — that’s what matters most,” said Juan Pablo “J.P.” Garza, a senior forward/midfielder for the Raiders. “I think that’s our strong point.”
Added teammate Jorge Morales, a senior defensive midfielder, “This team has a lot of character. You’ll see us have a lack of confidence once in a while, and I think that’s what holds us back sometimes. But we have a good defense and we can score a lot of goals.
“Our objective is always state,” Morales added. “I believe that’s what we’re ready for this season.”
Along with De Leon, Garza and Morales, other members of the Raiders’ starting lineup are goalkeeper Danny Esquivel and defenders Michael Esquivel, Joaquin Hernandez, Alex Villanueva and Anthony Enriquez. Another midfielder is Ryan Macias, and the forwards are Alex Mendez and David Villarreal.
Contributing off the bench are Jorge Castillo, Roberto Garcia, Jamin Muniz and Kevin Zarrazagas, who was a starter and is now coming back from an injury.
Salvador Garcia is in his 22nd season as the Raiders’ coach after six years as the team’s assistant under Lorenzo Garza. Garcia has good things to say about this year’s squad.
“This is one of those teams that I’m so proud of,” he said. “Even though I’m disappointed at times with some things, I’m proud of these guys for winning the district title. We never had capturing the district title on our list of goals for this season. Our main objective was always to make it to the playoffs. We wanted to make it to the playoffs by peaking at the right moment. For the most part, we’ve been doing that.
“We’re blessed that we won the district and that we have everyone healthy now,” Garcia added. “I hope we can play to our potential (in the playoffs). It’s amazing how much these guys have improved. I tell them if we don’t play with discipline, anyone can beat us, and if we play with discipline, we can beat anyone. We need to be consistent, so I have to demand more from them because they have the potential to do it.
“Just like I say with every victory, all the credit goes to the players and all the glory goes to God.”