By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — Two of the best Class 5A soccer teams in the state squared off Friday at the BISD Showcase.
The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers were victorious 2-1 against the visiting San Antonio Southwest Dragons, courtesy of a Javier Ballesteros brace.
It was an extremely contentious and intense match. Both teams knew the other’s capabilities, setting up the competitive match.
The Dragons dominated much of the first half, pressing Brownsville Veterans high up the pitch. The Chargers did not string together many passes, and their long-balls were ineffective at alleviating pressure.
San Antonio Southwest moved the ball well, working it in and out and giving its players on the wing ample space to deliver crosses into the box.
The Dragons’ goal early in the first half came from a cross by Julian Leon. Edson Gonzalez still had a lot of work to do, and his superb first touch nicely set up his finish to earn an early 1-0 lead.
San Antonio Southwest still pressured the Chargers well and could have scored more, but the Brownsville Veterans keeper — who was not at fault for the goal — was in fine form.
“They were doing a great job, and there was an adjustment that we had to make at halftime. They played well and put us in some tough spots,” Chargers coach Alberto Vasquez coach. “We shifted to a back three. We did this so our full-backs can push higher up the pitch and take away their options on the wings.”
During the second half, the Brownsville Veterans back line got higher up the pitch and put the pressure back on San Antonio Southwest. The Chargers’ long balls penetrated the Dragons’ defensive third and yielded set-piece opportunities.
Brownsville Veterans took the lead because of those set pieces. On the first free kick, San Antonio Southwest only cleared centrally, resulting in the ball being recycled back in the box by the Chargers. Ballesteros found space and finished. The Dragons appealed for offsides but did not get the call.
Brownsville Veterans then took the lead with roughly 15 minutes left in the match. Their second set-piece goal was floated to the back post. Ballesteros lost his marker and calmly finished the open header.
“I am proud of the win,” Ballesteros said. “We started off bad because we were not communicating, but thank god we had a good second half and we got the result.
On his second goal, he said, “We’re calling out that back post. The defender said he was going to leave me free, so I let the free kick taker know.”
San Antonio Southwest had some chances to level the score, but Brownsville Veterans’ defense held strong.
Earlier in the day, Brownsville Jubilee took care of Port Isabel 8-1.
On Thursday, Brownsville Veterans defeated Port Isabel 17-0, Brownsville Rivera beat Brownsville St. Joseph 4-1 and San Antonio Southwest beat PSJA Southwest 7-0.