BROWNSVILLE — It was a pleasant homecoming for Brownsville native Saul Zamora, Houston MacArthur’s girls soccer head coach.
Zamora, a Brownsville Rivera alumnus, defeated longtime friend and fellow Brownsville Rivera alum and Brownsville Hanna head coach Eliseo Guzman 3-0 to win the BISD tournament championship.
“It feels good to come home,” Zamora said. “I had my family over here cheering for me … it feels good coming back home and taking the whole thing.”
Zamora brought a talented squad that won the District 14-6A championship in 2022. It was a tall order for an Eagles side that scrapped back in the title game for the second straight season after dropping the opening match.
“I am very proud of the girls,” Guzman said. “They put their heart in this tournament. Even though a lot of people did not believe in us, we made it. We told them to be proud of that and to build from that.”
Generals sophomore forward Estrella Arriazola led the line and was a thorn in Eagles’ defense when they advanced their backline up the pitch. Arriazola hung on the defenders’ shoulders, waiting to pounce on through balls from teammates.
Arriazola put the match away in the second half after being denied by Eagles keeper Angelina Gaytan. On the following attack, Arriazola ran behind the Brownsville Hanna backline and finished the 1-on-1 easily to put the Generals up 3-0 and grab her brace.
Gaytan made a number of good saves to keep the Eagles in the match, but the Generals seemingly cemented the tournament trophy in the first half through Arriazola and her freshman sister, Emily Arriazola.
“They are a great team,” Guzman said. “Every line they have great players. They have a very complete team and a good coach.”
Emily Arriazola put the Generals up 2-0 in the 13th minute after finding space behind the Brownsville Hanna defense.
The elder Arriazola started the scorning inside five minutes. It was more of the same: a through ball made its way to the powerful runner, and she calmly slotted past Gaytan.
Brownsville Hanna made it to the final by beating Brownsville Porter in a shootout after a 1-1 draw in regulation. The Cowboys took home third place.
Thursday’s Results
Group A:
Brownsville Rivera 4, Donna High 1
MacArthur 10, Hidalgo 0
MacArthur 4, Brownsville Rivera 0
Donna High 3, Hidalgo 2
MacArthur 3, Donna High 0
Brownsville Rivera 5, Hidalgo 1
Group B:
Sharyland High 1 (2), Brownsville Lopez 1 (1)
Eagle Pass 3, Zapata 0
Brownsville Lopez 2, Eagle Pass 0
Sharyland High 9, Zapata 0
Sharyland High 4, Eagle Pass 0
Brownsville Lopez 2, Zapata 0
Group C:
Brownsville Porter 1, PSJA SW 0
La Joya 4, Grulla 0
Brownsville Porter 1, La Joya 0
PSJA SW 3, Grulla 0
La Joya 2, PSJA SW 0
Brownsville Porter 5, Grulla 0
Group D:
Brownsville Pace 2, PSJA North 0
Mission High 3, Raymondville 0
Brownsville Pace 0 (1), Mission High 0 (0)
PSJA North 4, Raymondville 0
Mission High 2, PSJA North 1
Brownsville Pace 3, Raymondville 1
Group E:
Brownsville Veterans 1, La Joya Palmview 0
PSJA High 2, Progreso 0
Brownsville Veterans 4, PSJA High 0
La Joya Palmview 10, Progreso 0
La Joya Palmview 1, PSJA 0
Brownsville Veterans 14, Progreso 0
Group F:
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 1, Brownsville Hanna 0
Rio Hondo 1 (2), CC Winn 1 (1)
Brownsville Hanna 5, CC Winn 0
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 5, Rio Hondo 0
La Juarez-Lincoln 4, CC Winn 0
Brownsville Hanna 2, Rio Hondo 0
Group G:
Weslaco High 5, Roma 0
Port Isabel 2, CC Moody 1
Weslaco High 6, CC Moody 0
Roma 1, Port Isabel 0
CC Moody 0 (1), Roma 0 (0)
Weslaco High 2, Port Isabel 0
Group H:
San Benito 2, IDEA Riverview 0
La Feria 0 (2), Valley View 0 (1)
San Benito 1, La Feria 0
IDEA Riverview 3, Valley View 2
La Feria 5, IDEA Riverview 0
San Benito 3, Valley View 0
Friday’s Results
Group A: McArthur, Lopez, Veterans and La Joya at Rivera High School
MacArthur 1, Lopez 0
Veterans 2, La Joya 0
McArthur 3, Veterans 0
Lopez 2 (2), La Joya 2 (3)
Veterans 2, Lopez 0
MacArthur 1, La Joya 0
Group B: Sharyland High, Rivera, Juarez-Lincoln, Mission High at Lopez High School
Sharyland High 1, Rivera 0
Juarez-Lincoln 2, Mission High 1
Sharyland High 1 (3), Juarez-Lincoln 1 (2)
Rivera 3, Mission High 0
Juarez-Lincoln 2, Rivera 1
Mission High 2 (1) Sharyland High 2 (2)
Group C: Porter, La Joya Palmview, Weslaco High, La Feria at Porter High School
Porter 2, La Joya Palmview 0
Weslaco High 1, La Feria 0
Porter 2, Weslaco High 0
La Joya Palmview 5, La Feria 0
Weslaco High 1, La Joya Palmview 2
La Feria 1(3), Porter 1 (1).
Group D: Pace, Roma, San Benito, Hanna at Pace High School
Pace 1, Roma 0
San Benito 1, Hanna 2
Pace 1, San Benito 0
Roma 0, Hanna 3
San Benito 3, Roma 1
Hanna 1, Pace 0
Group E: Hidalgo, Eagle Pass, Progreso, PSJA SW at Veterans High School
Hidalgo 2, Eagle Pass 1
Progreso 0, PSJA SW 3
Hidalgo 3, Progreso 0
Eagle Pass 1(3), PSJA SW 1(2)
Progreso 0, Eagle Pass 1
PSJA SW 1, Hidalgo 0
Group F: Zapata, Donna High, CC Winn, PSJA North at Hanna High School
Zapata 0, Donna High 7
CC Winn 0, PSJA North 3
Zapata 0, CC Winn 2
Donna High 0, PSJA North 3.
CC Winn 0, Donna High 4
PSJA North 8, Zapata 0
Group G: Grulla, PSJA High, CC Moody, IDEA Riverview
Grulla 0, PSJA High 3
CC Moody 2, IDEA Riverview 3
Grulla 0, CC Moody 3
PSJA High 2, IDEA Riverview 0
CC Moody 0 (2), PSJA High 0 (1)
IDEA Riverview 4, Grulla 0
Group H: Raymondville, Port Isabel, Valley View, Rio Hondo at Sams Memorial Stadium
Raymondville 0 (3) Port Isabel 0 (2)
Valley View 3, Rio Hondo 0
Raymondville 0 (4), Valley View 0 (3)
Port Isabel 0 (3), Rio Hondo 0 (2)
Valley View 0, Port Isabel 1
Rio Hondo 2 (1), Raymondville 2 (2)
Saturday’s Results
Consolation Bracket
PSJA North 2, PSJA SW 1
Raymondville 1, PSJA High 0
PSJA SW 1, PSJA High 0
PSJA North 4, Raymondville 0
Gold Bracket
MacArthur 2, Sharyland High 0
Hanna 1 (3), Porter 1 (2)
Porter 1, Sharyland High 0
MacArthur 3, Hanna 0