By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The 2020 boys soccer season was quite eventful for the Los Fresnos Falcons and the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers.
Each team overcame the odds to capture a district championship — Los Fresnos in District 32-6A and Brownsville Veterans in District 32-5A.
Michael Miller was the guiding force behind the Falcons, and Alberto Vasquez directed the Chargers.
The two men share top honors as The Brownsville Herald’s 2020 All-Metro Boys Soccer Co-Coaches of the Year.
This season, the Falcons were in the process of experiencing their third coach in three years and hadn’t qualified for the playoffs in 2019. After two seasons as an assistant, 2020 was Miller’s first year in charge.
He simply asked his players to believe in themselves and in the program while competing against the always tough Brownsville schools in 32-6A. The players responded in the best way possible, and the result was the school’s first district title in boys soccer.
“I asked them to believe they were good enough to challenge for a district championship, although it had never been done before in the history of the program here,” said Miller, whose assistant coaches are Jaime Longoria, Michael Garcia and William Thompson. “I think that was the biggest message I had for the guys during the season to help us get to where we got.
“This team showed its character,” he added. “The players said they had been through a lot, having three different coaches in three years, and they returned this season not really knowing what to expect. They showed their character by not giving up.
“You don’t win without talent, and we knew we were capable of doing something good after winning the summer league playing against a lot strong teams from the area. It was just a matter of them believing and showing their character.”
The Falcons went 8-2 with 24 points to capture the 32-6A crown. At the time the season was halted by the UIL in mid-March due to the dangers of the COVID-19 coronavirus and eventually canceled for good last week, they boasted a 20-8-2 overall record.
The soccer season was put on hold just as the playoffs were about to start in late March.
Miller appreciates the recognition he and his team have received.
“This (coach of the year) award is a team award,” said Miller, who came to South Texas from his native state of Minnesota. “It doesn’t happen unless I have the players and staff that I have being in this position. I told the players, ‘All I have to do is make you guys believe you can do it,’ so I’m humbled (to be named co-coach of the year) and honored to be a coach down here. Since the beginning of the season it’s not something I ever really thought about.
“You can’t (actually) scour the whole country, but considering the talent and ability here (in the Rio Grande Valley), it has to be some of the best public high school soccer in the country,” he added. “All the way through (South Texas), there are so many really good teams here. With so many good teams, you just want to get to the playoffs, make a run and see how far you can go.
“A lot of our guys have never had the opportunity to play in a playoff game. You try to hold out hope (the playoffs would happen), especially for our seniors, that they could get that experience, but there are bigger things out there to be concerned about right now. (With the season officially over now), we’ve accomplished what we could accomplish (by winning 32-6A).”
Vasquez feels the same way about his Brownsville Veterans team. If given the chance, he believes his team could have gone far in the playoffs. It’s a team that features players who have made it to the Region IV-5A final three straight seasons and played 15 playoff games prior to 2020.
Vasquez believes this was the year for the Chargers to make it to the state tournament for the first time after prevailing in 32-5A against such tough opponents as Brownsville Porter, Brownsville Lopez and Valley View. The latest Class 5A rankings for Region IV by the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches have Brownsville Veterans at No. 1, Porter at No. 2 and Valley View at No. 3. Lopez is No. 7 in the region.
“Because of what we’ve been able to accomplish the last several years, the players always come into the season knowing our objective is to get to state,” Vasquez said. “Our mindset is to win state. The players show up and know from Day 1 that we’re in it to go all the way.
“The defense was a big part of our success this season,” he added. “We only gave up nine goals (in 13 district games). We’d like to believe this was our year to really make a serious (postseason) push. Physically and mentally, we were peaking at the right moment (when the season for all spring sports was halted by the UIL in March).”
The Chargers stand 19-2-2 overall after winning 32-5A with a 12-1 record and 36 points. Vasquez’s coaching staff includes Dante Ayala, Jorge Medina and George Saenz.
Regarding his co-coach of the year award shared with Los Fresnos’ Miller, the Brownsville Veterans coach said, “My name appears there (winning the award), but I feel I have the best assistant coaches who deserve credit, too. It’s not just me (helping the team win). It’s the assistant coaches, and it’s the players who absorb the instructions we give them and go out there and execute what we’re trying to do. It makes me look good.
“There are many good coaches out there, so it’s always an honor to receive such an award,” he added. “A lot of people have contributed to our success.”