By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Pace Lady Vikings soccer program has developed quite a tradition of sending athletes to the college ranks during coach Jesus O. Villarreal’s tenure, and Vianca Sandoval is proud to be continuing it.
After initially saying no to the offer in February, Sandoval elected to sign to play soccer for Jarvis Christian College in July. She’ll be joining a handful of Rio Grande Valley athletes in Hawkins, Texas to compete under coach Demetrio Hernandez in the Red River Athletic Conference of the NAIA.
“I decided to change my mind because I wanted to play, and I just thought it was a good opportunity,” Sandoval said. “It’s an honor to be able to play over there and show other girls that even though we’re from the Valley, we can continue playing the sport we love if we just work hard for it.”
Sandoval was a three-year starter and letterwinner at Pace. She helped the Lady Vikings earn back-to-back District 32-5A titles in 2018 and 2019, along with an undefeated district record her sophomore season.
Her efforts as a right striker earned Sandoval all-district second-team honors as a junior and senior, and an All-Metro second-team midfield selection in 2020. Villarreal said Sandoval played a vital role in “putting Pace in a pretty good spot in the Valley” as a respected and successful soccer program, and he’s happy she accepted an offer to continue the tradition of sending a player to college.
“This was my seventh year, and I want to say she was my No. 21 or 22 player to sign with a college,” Villarreal said. “I’m very proud. It would be a waste of talent if she didn’t go to play at the next level. We have championships all over the place… but putting that aside, the fact that somebody is going to get a free education because of soccer, that’s the best prize you can get as a coach and the best thing that can happen for the players and the program.”
Villarreal lauded Sandoval’s speed and ball skills, and said she’s a very versatile player. But above all, he said the maturity she showed from a young age helped her excel on the field and in the classroom.
Sandoval served as a co-captain this past season because of the example she set for younger teammates. Villarreal said she has a “never quit” personality that makes her a coachable athlete and believes she will “get a starting spot really soon.”
“She’s a very talented player. I didn’t have to do that much, just to polish her a little bit, because her matureness was there since Day 1,” Villarreal said. “She can do whatever you ask her to do. She can defend for you, she can go up and down, she can attack, cut, do diagonals pretty well, she can use her head, and she might be skinny but she’s very strong. She has a beautiful kick from the outside. Coach Hernandez from Jarvis is going to have a pretty good ride having that right side covered by her all four years.”
But Sandoval has to wait before getting a chance to fight for a starting spot. Jarvis pushed its soccer season to begin in January and the fall semester is completely online. Sandoval is working on her basics during her first semester before deciding what she wants to study.
While she studies and trains in Brownsville for the remainder of the year, Sandoval said she and the other RGV girls that have signed with JCC have met and practiced together. As she looks forward to representing a new school, she said the lessons she learned at Pace and her support system will guide her in this next chapter.
“What I learned throughout the years (at Pace) was how to work together as a team. We all became family and learned from one another,” Sandoval said. “(I’m excited about) meeting new teammates, and I know they all have different ways of playing soccer and I can grow from what I learn from them. (I want to thank) my coaches, family, teachers, teammates and all the people who supported me along the way.”