By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
It’s been proven again.
Brownsville can play soccer really well.
With a roster comprised entirely of players from Brownsville high schools, the Texas Southmost College men’s club soccer team captured the Texas Collegiate Soccer League South Conference championship with a 6-0 victory Sunday at home.
The Scorpions finished the regular season with a 5-0 record with 15 points by defeating the University of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners 6-0 at Scorpion Field.
“It’s great to play on this team (of Brownsville players),” said TSC’s Jose “Chevy” Echavarria, who two years ago played for the Lopez Lobos. “There’s commitment, friendship and everything with these guys, so it’s great.
“This is a typical Brownsville team,” Echavarria added. “We never give up. If we’re down (in the score) or we’re up, we don’t let up on the gas at any time. That’s something that is super important for any team that wants to win.
“This is just a little show for all the college coaches out there (who may have overlooked us). We may be from a little town (compared to San Antonio, Dallas and Houston), but we can do it.”
The Scorpions scored four goals during the first half and added two more tallies during the second half to secure the conference-clinching win.
“This feels really good,” TSC coach Mario A. Zamora said of winning the conference. “Since Day 1, that was our first objective. I remember telling the guys, ‘Let’s put that check mark on winning the conference,’ and now we can look forward to doing well at regionals (Oct. 25-27 at the University of Texas-Dallas). That’s our second objective of the season now.
“This is a great group of student-athletes,” added Zamora, who also coaches the Pace Vikings. “It’s a very talented group. All I have to do is just put the pieces together (in the lineup) and make sure they all get playing time. The guys have been doing a fantastic job.”
Scoring first-half goals for the Scorpions on Sunday were Isaac Cedillo of Rivera (fourth minute), Julian Espinoza of Rivera (17th minute), Juan Garza of Rivera (23rd minute) and Jose Zamora of Brownsville Veterans Memorial (33rd minute).
Second-half scores for TSC came from Victor Rodriguez of Hanna (59th minute) and Echavarria of Lopez (73rd minute).
“I feel we really played well as a team today,” said Jose Zamora, a defender on the left side. “We’re really good in all positions. Our midfield is probably the strongest. Things really worked out well for us today.
“It feels great to be conference champions,” he added. “There was a lot of pressure on us to do the same as last year’s undefeated team did, so this win feels great. Now that we’re going to regionals, it feels even better.”
Before they compete at the regional tournament Oct. 25-27 in Dallas, the Scorpions have a non-conference match scheduled at 3 p.m. Saturday at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley against the Vaqueros.