HARLINGEN — Class 6A girls soccer teams from the Valley chase playoff glory as District 31-6A and District 32-6A collide for a spot in the area round this week in the bi-district round of the UIL playoffs.
Harlingen High has been knocked out in the second round the last four playoffs. The District 32-6A champs have had their eye on making it past the second round all season, District 32-6A’s top goal scorer Naeori Resendez said after beating Los Fresnos for the district championship before Spring Break.
First-year head coach Jose Galvan, and the Cardinals are not overlooking Edinburg North.
“Our mentality is to go as far as we can in the playoffs, but taking it game by game,” Galvan said. “In order for us to go far, we need to have a good game plan, adapt to the circumstances of the game and capitalize our opportunities.”
The Cardinals won the District 32-6A without losing a match and dropping a single point in Galvan’s first season at Harlingen High. Galvan was an assistant for seven years at Harlingen South.
“I’m very happy with the team’s performance, both collectively and individually,” Galvan said. “The girls adapted to my soccer philosophy very quick and trusted the process. Now it’s time to implement it in the playoffs.”
Harlingen High allowed only three goals in district and finished with four of the top eight goal scorers in the district. Resendez beat out Los Fresnos’ Madyson Harris by one goal. Resendez finished with 17, Harris 16.
Harlingen High takes on Edinburg North at 7 p.m. Friday at Harlingen High. Los Fresnos, the runner-up in District 32-6A, meets La Joya at 7 p.m. Friday at Mercedes High School.
La Joya or Los Fresnos are likely to play San Antonio Taft, one of the best teams in the state, in the area round. The Falcons and Cardinals lost to Taft during the tournament season.
“La Joya is a good team,” Los Fresnos head coach Juan Diego Luna said. “They are tough, their district was very close … we played two or three teams from that district and they were not easy opponents. They gave us a good game, so we are expecting that from La Joya. If we can get past this first round we have a chance to compete against future opponents.”
Edinburg Economedes won the District 31-6A title with stout defending. The Jaguars surrendered only five goals in district.
The Jaguars travel to Weslaco High to face the Panthers at 7 p.m. Friday. The Panthers return to the playoffs for the first time since 2014. They are going to have to contain the joint top scorer in District 31-6A, Edinburg Economedes’ Jaqueline Maldonado.
The Panthers defeated the Jaguars 2-1 in non-district.
Maldonado and Edinburg High’s Amily Rodriguez finished with 13 goals. The Bobcats finished second in District 31-6A and are set to travel to the port of side of Brownsville to face the Rivera Raiders at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Brownsville Rivera’s Alondra Villarreal finished nine times this season. The Raiders beat the Bobcats in non-district 1-0.