LOS FRESNOS — Pedro Villanueva headed in the go-ahead goal three minutes into overtime and the Brownsville Rivera Raiders escaped with a 4-3 victory over the Los Fresnos Falcons on Friday at Los Fresnos High School.
The victory keeps the Raiders’ perfect district record intact, with a 6-0-0 mark. They take a six-point lead for first in the district with four games remaining.
“We told the kids Los Fresnos was going to come after us because obviously they want to win district and this was the last chance they had,” Brownsville Rivera head coach Salvador Garcia said. “It is in our hands now. It is nice to be in the driver’s seat, but the district title is just one step. We’re not looking for just a district title. Our expectations are higher. Let’s see what God has in store for us.”
The Raiders played a majority of the second half with just 10 men, with Roman Vera leaving the game just 19 minutes into the period following his second yellow card of the night.
The disadvantage played in favor of the Falcons, who mounted a furious rally attempt during the final 10 minutes while trailing 3-0.
A goal by Ivan Galvan during the 70th minute set off a run of three straight scores by the Falcons, including the game-tying score by Alexis Escobedo with just three minutes remaining. Romualdo Gonzalez netted the goal to cut the deficit to two during the 73rd minute.
After the Raiders took the lead in overtime, the Falcons received a chance to tie the contest during the 87th minute, earning a penalty kick after a foul inside the box.
Brownsville Rivera goalkeeper Rolando Dominguez denied the possible game-tying shot by Kevin Zamora, making a diving save to keep the Raiders ahead.
“I don’t know why, but I was so relaxed,” Garcia said. “I don’t know what I was thinking, but I was so relaxed. When things are going your way, everything goes your way. At the beginning of the year, we had a lot of injuries and negative kids. We told the kids sooner or later things were going to change for us. It seems, hopefully, that everything is turning in our favor. Let’s see how long that is going to last.”
The Falcons continued to press forward during the second overtime period, looking for the game-tying score to send it to overtime, but it never came with their rally attempt falling short.
The loss drops Los Fresnos to 4-2-0, both losses coming to the Raiders. They sit in second in the standings behind the Raiders by six points.
“It is really hard to find words,” Los Fresnos head coach Michael Miller said. “I’m really proud of the boys and the way they fought. These are games we need. We want to be the first team in Los Fresnos soccer history to go to regionals. Hopefully, we learn from the loss instead of letting it define us.”
The Raiders (6-0-0) return home for a game against San Benito (1-5-0) at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Falcons (4-2-0) wrap up their two-game homestand at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Weslaco High (0-6-0).