By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Thanks to an outburst of goals during the second half, the Porter Cowboys are 2-0 in the District 32-5A boys soccer race.
The Cowboys led only 1-0 at halftime Tuesday against the Mercedes Tigers before finding the net four more times during the final 40 minutes to win decisively at home 5-0.
“The coaches had a serious talk with us at halftime and told us just to start pushing (forward harder on offense), and the goals came,” said Oscar Garcia, Porter’s senior forward who finished with two goals and two assists on the night. “Our team is playing much better this year. We have a lot of experience from last season.”
The Cowboys were coming off last Friday’s 32-5A opener at Donna High, where they won 1-0.
The score at intermission Tuesday could have been 4-0 or 5-0 for Porter, except Mercedes goalkeeper Agapito Ramos made a number of standout first-half saves to frustrate the Cowboys.
Following the advice of their coaches, the Cowboys came out a little more determined during the second half, and the goals started coming.
“We told the guys at halftime they needed to go out and prove who we are,” Porter coach Jose Espitia said. “When you’re playing at home, you have to demand respect from your opponent. We had to go out, be aggressive and pressure the ball.
“I really liked the way we played the second half,” Espitia added. “We were running and being aggressive with and without the ball. You could tell our guys were playing a district soccer game (by the heightened intensity). The same thing happened at Donna. (But) we were too laid back, and we kept missing and missing (our shots).
“We were playing like it was a tournament game at Donna. We told them (Tuesday) ‘The tournaments are over now, so go out there and play at the (increased) speed of 32-5A varsity soccer,’ and that’s what the guys did. I liked how we played in the second half.”
Mercedes lost its 32-5A opener 8-0 against Valley View last Friday and is now 0-2 in the district standings.
The Cowboys were up 1-0 at halftime Tuesday thanks to a medium-range goal by Jose Xavier Mateos during the 17th minute. It came off a pass from by Garcia.
It became 2-0 for the Cowboys during the 55th minute when Garcia sent a crossing shot from the left side into the right corner of the net.
Five minutes later, during the 60th minute, Garcia drilled a strong shot at the net from about 25 yards away. The ball hit the crossbar and bounced in to increase Porter’s lead to 3-0.
And then one minute later, during the 61st minute, Porter’s Brandon Montes dribbled in on the attack and rifled a shot into the net off a defender from approximately 18 yards out.
The final Porter goal to make it 5-0 came during the 71st minute, when a long, well-placed pass from the right side by Roy Gavina was headed into the goal by Mateos.
The Cowboys face a strong test in their next 32-5A game Friday at Valley View.
“It’s going to be really tough,” Garcia said. “We just have to work hard these next two days and try our best to win.”
Actually, it was a sweep for Porter’s soccer teams Tuesday as the Cowgirls won the nightcap of the 32-5A doubleheader 2-0 against the Lady Tigers.
The match between the girls remained scoreless until 13 minutes were left and the Cowgirls’ Liberty Garza scored on a header. Barely one minute later, Denise Romero scored for the Cowgirls to make it 2-0.
Both Garza and Romero are freshmen.
Porter improved to 2-0 in 32-5A, and Mercedes slipped to 1-1.
“I’m real proud of these girls,” Cowgirls coach Abraham Gracia said. “It’s a very good group that is very dedicated and very committed. I can’t ask for anything else.”