EDINBURG — Lizzy Loera admittedly was a little scared when she returned to the soccer field.

Coming back from a broken ankle, that wasn’t entirely unusual. To top it off, however, her Edinburg North coach Danny Valdez moved her from left or right back to sweeper — the last line (or last person) of defense — to replace a teammate who tore her ACL during the first preseason tournament of the year. On a defensive-oriented team, it was a huge pair of spikes to fill in.

“That was very scary,” said Loera, who played through the pain and “scares” to be named The Monitor’s All-Area Girls Soccer Defensive Player of the Year. “I had played defense here or there, left or right, but never in the middle. If anyone ever scored, I would always blame myself and would always think ‘That was my fault.’”

Those scoring attempts became fewer and farther in between as Loera overcame the fear, while the ferociousness — the only way to describe a good sweeper’s mentality — grew, blowing caution to the wind in an all-out effort to make sure nobody passed her by.

“Throughout the season I just got more confident,” the rising junior said. “In the beginning, it was very hard. As time went on, every time I stopped someone and got the ball back for us, I gained more confidence. I wanted to win and I wanted the ball out of our area.”

Edinburg North finished the season with a 22-4-1 record, winning District 32-6A for the second straight year. The Cougars went 13-1 in district play, giving up a measly eight goals.

“Lizzy did a great job for us this year,” said Valdez, who has coached the girls program at Edinburg North for 22 years. “She started a bit slow and hesitant because of the injury, but she’s a great competitor and she used her speed and knowledge of the game to put her in position.”

Loera credits her cross country running for keeping her in condition, and her time on the track team — running usually in the 800-meter relay or the 400-meter dash — to help her with speed and quickness.

The knowledge that Valdez has comes from her playing soccer since she was 6 years old.

“When I was smaller, I wasn’t doing anything so (my parents) put me in soccer — with the McAllen Dolphins,” she said. “It was the first sport I ever played and I’ve always enjoyed it every since.”

Loera’s injury came at the end of last season during a scrimmage. She was running up the sideline when she tried to stop the ball — but it didn’t happen like she expected, and definitely not like she wanted.

“My ankle went one way and my body went the other way,” she said. “When I fell, it became numb and I tried to get up and just fell back down. They took me to the trainers and I said I was OK, but when the trainer told me it was broken, I burst into tears.

“It took a while to heal. I would play here and there but my ankle would start hurting and it was tough to get out. I didn’t like getting out.”

Then, once she had recovered enough, she was given another challenge at sweeper. She ended up being named the District 31-6A co-defensive player of the year.

“In the beginning, it was scary,” Loera said. “Then I started thinking if I’m not back here, who is going to be back here? The original sweeper couldn’t play at all and we had a whole bunch of left and right wings.

“Why not go to sweeper? I can play the whole game there.”

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Edinburg Vela and Valley Venom Club Team hitter/defensive specialist Glenys Maldonado will spend some of the summer like hundreds of Rio Grande Valley athletes do traveling the state and beyond to compete in sports camps and showcases.

It was a breath of fresh air when the rising senior heard that Texas Tech associate head coach Morgan Thomas was bringing that same type of camp to McAllen on June 11 at Cavazos Sports Institute, located at 2900 Buddy Owens Ave.

“When Coach Jaime (Cavazos, owner of CSI) told me that Texas Tech was coming, I was really excited about the opportunity,” Maldonado said. “The Valley is kind of small and it’s great to have a major program to come here and put this on.”

The day will be divided into three different camps. Seventh and eighth graders can attend from 9 a.m. to noon. Freshman and sophomore camp will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and junior and senior camps will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

There will also be a coaches clinic June 12 from 9 a.m. to noon.

“I always see these kids travel so they can get the experience of some of these camps. They’ll go to UT, Baylor, A&M, Texas Tech — all over the place,” Cavazos said. “But it ends up being costly, so I try to bring opportunities here. A lot of kids who are attending these camps and their parents appreciate its saving them money. Some may not be able to make it to camps because of the financial constraints.”

CSI has hosted volleyball events prior with University of Texas’ Chloe Collins, who plays professional volleyball in Europe and associate coach David Hyte, of Division I powerhouse and annual national championship contender BYU.

Maldonado said she will still attend some showcases and other camps in the summer. She said that getting different perspectives and tips from different coaches and styles challenges her beyond what she does and already knows.

“This is a great opportunity,” said Maldonado, who was named the District 31-6A MVP this past season. “I’m definitely not missing it.”

The Texas Tech volleyball team traveled to Edinburg in September 2018 and defeated UTRGV, three sets to one. Former Sharyland Pioneer standout Audrey Smith plays with the Red Raiders and in that game was subbed in to serve on match point in front of her hometown fans and delivered a strong serve that resulted in the Red Raiders earning the victory.

To register, call (956) 451-2017 or visit csitrain.com.

McALLEN — Tani Talamantez has a smile that will light up a dark room. When she gathers with teammates or family and friends, laughter ensues immediately.

But don’t mistake that beaming smile with softness, or her kindness with weakness. She’ll steal from you, break your ankles and make you look silly.

We’re talking on the basketball court of course.

Talamantez was all smiles, and some tears, as she signed her letter of intent Thursday to play basketball with Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. The McAllen Memorial senior point guard, and The Monitor girls basketball player of the year, said the journey to college began years ago playing basketball with her older brothers.

“I played mainly with D.J. but they were tough,” Talamantez said. “He’d say ‘come on, come shoot around and lets play one-on-one,’ I would really be scared because guys never like to take it easy on girls, but I was his sister so of course he would let me take him to the rim every now an then.

“He has been an inspiration to me. He played here his senior year and dominated so I wanted to into my senior year and leave it all out there, play harder that I even have in the past.”

It showed as Talamantez, who has been the Mustangs’ starting point guard since her freshman year, averaged 20.9 points, 2,7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4.1 steals per game and most of the time she would watch from the bench in the fourth quarter as her team would have a large lead. The banner that stretched along the front of the table during her signing ceremony showed her progression; each year had more awards listed under it and her senior season was undoubtedly her best.

Among those awards, the Texas Girls Coaches Association chose Talamantez for its Class 6A All-State team. TGCA’s All-State team is comprised of the top 40 Class 6A players in Texas.

Last year’s 28-7 OLLU Saints finished 28-7 overall, 16-2 in the Red River Athletic Conference and advanced to the NAIA Div. I National Championship Final Four before falling to Oklahoma City. The team was ranked in the top 15 for the entire season and finished No. 3.

“Not only are they ranked No. 3 but they have a very good psychology program,” Talamantez said, “That’s the area I want to study.”

Talamantez’s dad, Dr. Donnie Talamantez, said Tani started dribbling a basketball around “when it was bigger than her.” He recalled a time during a summer track season when the coach came over to him to talk about his oldest daughter, about 6 or 7 years old at the time.

“He said ‘hey doc, your daughter’s the fastest out here,’” Dr. Talamantez said. “I said ‘the fastest girl, that’s great,’ and he said ‘no, the fastest boy or girl,’

“We kind of knew and saw she had something special around that time.”

Not only did Talamantez have her older brothers to guide her, but she has a younger sister, Cori, who plays by her side on the Memorial varsity team. Cori, a sophomore, was named the district’s defensive player of the year.

“I’ve played with Cori for 10 years on different team. She can stop me defensively but she’s scared..scared of my skill,” Tani said with a laugh.

That was a rare moment of smack talk for Tani, whose performance on the basketball court is nothing short of workman like at all times.

“I’m nice on the court. I’m not cocky or give people trash looks,” she said. “I just play the game hard whether winning or losing and stay focused. I don’t let pressure get to me.”

Sounds nice. Just don’t try her one-on-one.

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HENRY MILLER | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

Progreso soccer coach Margarito Jimenez Jr. has led the Red Ants to their third straight Class 4A Final Four.

Of course, he’s quick to give credit to his assistants, the board, the school, and especially his kids, but in the end, all of those people point back to him.

Still, Jimenez absolutely refuses to take credit for the advanced footwork of the high-scoring Red Ants.

“They come to tryouts handling the ball like that,” he said. “They’re that good and that advanced. My job is to just take that talent and guide them to play the best that they can, at every position.”

Under his directing, Progreso is set to play in the state semifinals at 6:30 p.m. today against top-seeded Palestine (34-0).

Throughout the regional tournament last weekend at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, the Red Ants’ ball control was a step better than the opposition. Both teams Progreso faced sat back and put extra defenders in the box. On several occasions, a Red Ants player outmaneuvered two or three opponents to emerge with the ball in open territory.

“We’re not scared to go after the ball,” midfielder Hugo Guajardo said. “We know that we are a good team, and other teams may be bigger, but we know how to control the ball, and coach tells us to be aggressive, and we are.”

Guajardo spends a lot of time controlling the ball on both sides of the field, and he came up big in the Class 4A Region IV final against Liberty Hill. He sent the ball into the box, finding Matthew Perez for the game’s only goal. Perez scored in both regional matches.

Jimenez said his team makes some passes that look like they are fooling around — like no-look, backward passes to a forward streaking up the sideline. But, he said, they’re not. Instead, that level of play comes from a lot of practice — even in the offseason.

“So many of these kids have been playing since they were young enough to just kick a ball. It’s become an extension of their feet,” he said. “That’s from basically having a ball on the end of their feet literally all the time.”

Today’s game against Palestine — a team the Red Ants lost to 1-0 in penalty kicks in the state championship match two years ago — brings the biggest challenge Progreso has faced all season. Two Palestine players have combined for 104 goals.

But the Red Ants’ ability to control the ball, and a defense that Jimenez repeatedly says is the best in the state, has the team believing that a third straight trip to Georgetown will be the one that ends with a title.

“We’ve been there before, and there are good teams,” Guajardo said. “But we can beat them. We can win it this year.”

HENRY MILLER | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

ALAMO — Isacc Gomez spent many years helping his daughters Kristi and Deserey Gomez learn volleyball.

“He introduced us to this amazing sport as a way for us to do something with our future,” Kristi said.

“He would tell us that this was our way out, our opportunity,” Deserey added.

He was right.

The sisters, both four-year starters for the PSJA Memorial Wolverines, signed Monday to continue their volleyball careers together at Laredo Community College.

Being close to home and their dad was a big factor, they said. Isacc Gomez was deported for illegally crossing the border and given 10 years before he can return to the United States. He didn’t have the opportunity to see his daughters play in high school. However, according to Azeneth Gomez, the sisters’ mom, that 10-year period is close to an end.

“We would play in Mexico, and he would be in the stands or coaching, and if we made a mistake, we would look up into the stands to see him,” Deserey Gomez said. “But when we started playing here, we would look up and then be like, ‘What are we looking for? He’s not here.’”

The signing was an emotional event as teammates, classmates, friends and family joined to celebrate at the PSJA Memorial library.

“They have done so much for this program. Literally taking it to another level,” said Angie Gonzales, who arrived as the head coach at PSJA Memorial a year before the duo started as freshman on the varsity squad. “Every young person couldn’t do wrong by following in their footsteps.”

The Gomez sisters’ interest in volleyball originated when they tried to join a game with some other girls but were shunned and told they didn’t know how to play. Their dad, however, wouldn’t let that stand and started buying balls. The family would play in their yard for hours. When they ran out of volleyballs, they would play pepper with heavier — and more painful — soccer balls.

“Even though he’s not present, he was the one who would always push them to do a lot,” Azeneth Gomez said. “We’ve always talked to them about, there are things in life you can’t control, but there are thing you can make changes in and make a difference. I’m so glad to see it impacted them. Results like this tell us, I guess, we did something right at some point.”

The girls fed off each other on the volleyball court and at home, as well, inspiring one another to continue to work. Their mom said she remembers several times waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning to find them doing homework in the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” she recalled asking. “‘Mom, this is due tomorrow, so I have to finish it.’ They are very responsible girls.”

“Honestly, this is a dream come true,” Kristi Gomez said. “I don’t know what I could do without my dad and my family. We get homesick really quick. I know that one day we will be more mature and grow up, but for right now, I prefer him being close, and we both have a chance now to be close to family. And, hopefully, he will see us play in Laredo one day.”

HENRY MILLER | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

PROGRESO — Even those who don’t follow soccer quickly realize that the Progreso Red Ants look to score at every opportunity.

When the opposing team plays with eight defenders, coach Margarito Jimenez Jr.’s strategy is to attack. When the opposing team is looking to counterstrike, his game plan is to attack.

And when the Red Ants are facing a team with two players who have combined for more than 100 goals this season, Jimenez’s plan is to attack, at least until Progreso scores a goal. Javier Leonor has registered 66 goals for the top-seeded Palestine Panthers (34-0), while teammate Riley Harper has scored 38 goals. Progreso and Palestine meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Georgetown in the Class 4A state semifinals.

“We are going for one goal,” Jimenez told his squad prior to practice Monday morning. The game is a rematch of the 2016 state championship match, which Palestine won 1-0 in penalty kicks. “We are going for one goal, and then we are not going to let them score. I’ve told you before: You are the best defense in the state. We are going to prove it.”

While the Red Ants are known for a prolific offense — one that scored 16 goals in a game earlier this year and has outscored opponents 14-1 in the playoffs — Jimenez stresses that his defense is a wall. As soon as the Red Ants broke up their informal meeting Monday, the three-time Class 4A Region IV champions started working on defense, specifically defending the long ball — a common counterstrike strategy against a high-octane offense.

“We practice defense a lot,” Jimenez said. “We were embarrassed by Valley View — of course they are a great team — but we lost to them 5-0 and then made some changes defensively that have made a big difference. They hurt our feelings.”

Valley View is the top seed in the Class 5A state Final Four and is 31-0 overall.

“When we start the season, we are looking to see where everyone can play,” Jimenez said. “Not many want to play defense, but we have four with Anthony Vasquez, Oscar Munoz, Hugo Guajardo and Edgar Melendez — those four are a wall along with our goalie Arturo Gallegos, and they refuse to allow goals into our net.”

Senior defender and co-captain Vasquez remembers the game against Valley View and the changes that immediately followed.

“They had the ball it seemed like 100 percent,” said Vasquez, who plays defense mainly because that’s what he said he learned from his dad, who played growing up in Michoacán, Mexico. “Playing defense is a big responsibility, especially when the game is tied.”

Vasquez was on the field when an errant Progreso throw-in was picked off by a Taylor player and turned into a goal during the first minute of their Class 4A regional semifinal. After the Red Ants secured a comeback win, they knew they had another test in the regional final against Liberty Hill and scoring weapon Jaron Frye.

This time, the Red Ants will have two scoring phenoms to contend with.

“We know about them, but we also knew about No. 10 (Frye) from Liberty Hill,” Vasquez said. “But he didn’t do anything.”

That was in part because the Red Ants double-teamed the Panthers star and kept fresh bodies him. At one point, Jimenez called on Vasquez’s younger brother Michael to be part of the team that was marking Frye.

“My mom has a picture of my brother in front, then No. 10, then me,” the elder Vasquez said. “They brought him (Michael) in because he’s rough, and he didn’t let him get away.”

Frye found one opportunity to get away, but the younger Vasquez grabbed onto Frye’s arm and wouldn’t let go. The result was a yellow card for Vasquez.

“If we have to trade a yellow card for a goal, we’ll do it every time,” Jimenez said. “I’ll take that anytime.”

Anthony Vasquez remembers playing Palestine two years ago. A sophomore at the time, he didn’t play much. But he said Progreso was the better team, controlling most of the match. However, the plan to go to penalty kicks worked for Palestine.

Jimenez said he isn’t sure what Palestine plans to do this year, but his team will be ready for a wide-open affair or to play against a team that sits back and relies on defense.

No matter what style Palestine implements, Jimenez has a game plan set.

“Our plan is to attack,” he said. “I know they have more weapons this year than when we met them before, but our plan is to attack and try to keep them scoreless. Let’s put one on them and see if we can handle it.
“We’ll see what we’ll do (about Palestine’s two primary scorers) when we get there. I know this: If we leave them alone, they will hurt us.”