Valley HS Boys Soccer Schedule 2018

Tuesday’s Games

Brownsville Hanna at Sharyland Pioneer, 5:30 p.m.

Port Isabel at Los Fresnos, 5:30 p.m.

Raymondville at Marine Military Academy, 6 p.m.

PSJA North at Weslaco High, 6 p.m.

Valley View at Laredo Alexander, 6:30 p.m.

Harlingen High at Rio Hondo, 6:30 p.m.

Edinburg Economedes at Harlingen South, 6:30 p.m.

San Benito at Brownsville Pace, 7:30 p.m.

Weslaco IDEA Pike vs. Brownsville IDEA Frontier, 7:30 p.m. (Brownsville Sports Park)

Edinburg High at La Joya High, 8 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 25

Non-district

Donna North at McAllen High, 6 p.m.

San Benito at Laredo Alexander, 6 p.m.

Kingsville King at Raymondville, 7 p.m.

McAllen Memorial at Hidalgo, 7:30 p.m. Sharyland High at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 7:30 p.m.

District 32-5A

Valley View at Mercedes, 5:30 p.m.

Edcouch-Elsa at Brownsville Lopez, 5:30 p.m.

Valley View at Mercedes, 5:30 p.m.

Brownsville Veterans at Brownsville Pace, 5:30 p.m.

By ROY HESS | Staff Writer

Soccer is indeed a game of surprises.

Things can change from day to day.

It was somewhat surprising when the PSJA High Bears suffered a 15-1 loss against Brownsville Veterans Memorial on Friday during the inaugural South Texas Futbol Showcase.

One day later, during Saturday’s final day of the Futbol Showcase, the Bears came out eager to prove they are a far better team than the previous day’s score indicated. They showed it by capturing a 2-1 victory against a favored Hanna squad on its home field to end the soccer event on a positive note.

The three-day, 18-team Futbol Showcase was played at Hanna, Rivera and Los Fresnos. There were three full 80-minute games at each site every day, starting Thursday. There was no tournament bracket play, nor a championship game.

While the Bears came out of Saturday’s match feeling a lot better about themselves, the Golden Eagles had to face the fact that anything can happen in soccer on any given day.

“We faced a team that I guess was hungry to win,” Hanna coach Reyes Prado said. “Our players came out a little flat, and that’s soccer. The Bears put the ball in twice, and we only put it in once. We had a lot of chances, but we couldn’t put the ball in (more than one time). We can’t make excuses about (going against) the wind (the second half) because they played against the wind, too.

“Unfortunately for us, that’s soccer.” Prado added. “That’s the way the game is played.”

It was a bright, sunny day with strong gusts of wind Saturday at Hanna.

Going against the wind during the first half, the Bears went up 1-0 before Hanna tied the score with a goal by Kevin Ochoa. PSJA High then took a 2-1 lead before halftime. The Bears came out and settled into a defensive posture for the entire second half, dropping eight to 10 players back to defend their goal the entire time.

Hanna, despite going against the blustery wind during the final 40 minutes, still controlled the action and had far more chances at the goal but just couldn’t find the mark.

“We’ve played several good teams throughout the preseason (before our district starts), and we’ve brought up our game,” Prado said. “This time around, after everybody heard the score from Friday (between PSJA High and Brownsville Veterans), you tend to let down your guard, I guess, and we ended up losing. I told our players, ‘Let’s not disrespect them, let’s play with intensity,’ but with (high school) players, it’s sometimes hard (after they see a score like that from the previous day).

“It happens,” Prado added. “It’s unfortunate, but it did happen to us, and I’m glad it happened at this point (of the season). Maybe we can humble ourselves now and not let our guard down against anyone else.”

Prior to Saturday’s setback, the Eagles defeated Laredo United and Edinburg Economedes by 3-1 scores during the first two days of the Futbol Showcase.

“We’re very happy with the way we’ve been playing against some very tough opponents,” Prado said. “Today, PSJA High was a good team that came out to play, and we ended up losing to a good team. It’s not a big deal because it happens. They were probably really determined, and I don’t blame them. After what happened Friday, their coach had them ready against us. It’s just one of those things that happens in soccer.”

Also on Saturday at Hanna, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln tied 0-0 with Laredo United and McAllen High defeated Jubilee Brownsville 7-0.

At Rivera, it was Lopez over Harlingen South 5-2, Rivera over Edinburg North 1-0 and Edinburg Economedes over La Joya High 1-0.

At Los Fresnos’ Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium, Brownsville Veterans edged Los Fresnos 2-0, Porter shut out Edinburg Vela 5-0 and Pace topped San Benito 4-0.

By ROY HESS | Staff Writer

The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers are looking pretty unstoppable just three weeks into the 2019 soccer season.

They’ve won practically all of their non-district games so far, including two at this week’s inaugural South Texas Futbol Showcase.

On Friday, the Chargers built an 8-0 first-half advantage and cruised to a 15-1 triumph against PSJA High at Rivera.

The three-day, 18-team tournament/showcase ends today with matches beginning at 10 a.m. at Rivera, Hanna and Los Fresnos’ Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium. There will be three full 80-minute games at each site. Also today, teams are scheduled to practice penalty kicks after each game, regardless of the score in regulation.

There will be no championship game.

For the Chargers, an ultra-challenging part of their schedule is just ahead Jan. 25, when they start District 32-5A competition.

Brownsville Veterans has a number of players remaining on its roster from the Chargers’ teams that advanced to the Class 5A regional final during each of the past two seasons, so expectations are again high.

A big highlight thus far for the Chargers was a 1-0 victory on Jan. 11 against 2018 state finalist San Antonio Reagan, which is ranked No. 4 in Class 6A by the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches. The win against Reagan came during last week’s 37th annual Brownsville ISD Tournament/Showcase.

The Chargers went 3-0 at the BISD Tournament and are 2-0 at the Futbol Showcase following a 5-1 triumph over McAllen High on Thursday and the decisive win against PSJA High on Friday. The Chargers culminate Futbol Showcase play with today’s 10 a.m. match at Los Fresnos against the Falcons.

There would appear to be very few things to dislike about the Chargers’ game at this point of the season.

Yet, coaches are seldom completely satisfied with their team’s performances, and Alberto Vasquez had something to say about his Brownsville Veterans squad, even though it won so handily.

“I hated seeing us give up that (second-half) goal, I really did,” Vasquez said. “I’d rather see us win 4-0 than give up a goal. A mistake like that is something we just can’t afford to make in district. Games in district will be decided by one mistake, so we have to learn from things like that.”

Nine players scored for the Chargers against the Bears.

Leading the way was Mark Boswell with three goals. Scoring two goals apiece were Albert Maradiaga, Aksel Cabrera, Jose Muniz and Javier Ballesteros. Adding solo tallies were Felipe Esquivel, Jose Balboa, Rey Gonzalez and Cesar Cepeda.

“Honestly, we weren’t trying to score as many goals as possible,” Vasquez said. “We’re trying to implement our style of play and do it as efficiently as possible. We want ball movement and people making runs into open spaces. Fortunately, the spaces were there for us to take advantage of, so the players were doing what we’ve been practicing.

“We have players who are still trying to prove themselves as far as how they can contribute to the team,” Vasquez added. “It’s real difficult for us to tell them to not do what we’re supposed to be doing. I think it’s up to the other coach to try to adjust (defensively) and neutralize us. We’re just trying to play.

“For example, McHi played us with more or less 10 guys back (on defense Thursday). They gave us the first 50 yards. It’s something we try to learn from. If we have no one lined up against us defensively (for a good portion of the field), we have to try to learn from it and play a formation that will work against an opponent that plays us that way. We need to do our job (and try to win).”

Other games Friday at Rivera included the Raiders tying McHi 1-1 and Pace defeating Jubilee Brownsville 4-0.

At Hanna, it was Hanna over Edinburg Economedes 3-1, Porter shutting out Edinburg North 2-0 and Harlingen South edging Edinburg Vela 1-0.

At Los Fresnos, it was Laredo United over San Benito 2-0, Lopez over La Joya High 2-0 and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln over Los Fresnos 2-1.

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

The first day of the inaugural South Texas Futbol Showcase got off to a solid start on Thursday.

Highlighting first-day action were a couple of closely contested matches at Rivera.

The host Raiders, playing on their new artificial turf field, trailed 1-0 most of the way against city rival Lopez until they rallied late to edge the Lobos 2-1. Also at Rivera, the Porter Cowboys led early 2-0, fell behind 3-2 and scored with three minutes remaining to gain a 3-3 tie with La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.

The 18-team, three-day soccer event continues today at Rivera, Hanna and Los Fresnos’ Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium with games starting at 10 a.m. There are three full 80-minute games per day at each of the three sites, including Saturday as well.

The Rivera-Lopez match was staged in true Brownsville rivalry tradition as it was played with a lot of intensity and attracted a near-capacity crowd.

Matchups in soccer between the Brownsville high schools tend to feature those qualities, and Thursday’s game was no exception.

Rivera coach Salvador Garcia had mixed feelings about the victory.

“We didn’t really play with our style of soccer, but we have to give credit to Lopez for the way they were playing against us,” Garcia said. “We played more with heart than skills today. It was one of those 50-50 games (that could have gone either way). We got lucky (with our two goals) at the end.

“Any time you get a positive result it’s good, but playing the way we did, it was kind of bittersweet for us,” Garcia added. “Yes, we won, but not playing the soccer (style) that we’re supposed to play and that we have played before.”

The Rivera coach said because of the match’s intensity and good-sized crowd on hand, it felt like the first bonafide Brownsville vs. Brownsville matchup of the new UIL season.

“We’re getting closer to the district season and teams are getting better and better,” Garcia said. “I think from now on, any time a Brownsville team plays another Brownsville team, it’s going to be this way.

“The players know each other from playing in different outside city leagues,” he added. “Of course, they want to have bragging rights for their high school (so they play extra hard against each other). That’s just the way it is. It’s always nice to see after the games when the players (on opposing teams) go back to being friends because it’s always just a game with both sides wanting to win (so bad).

“From now on, every team is wanting to win because we’re getting so close to the start of district (in another week or so).”

Lopez’s Guadalupe Sauceda scored a goal midway through the first half that gave the Lobos a 1-0 advantage. The lead lasted until late in the game. With under 10 minutes remaining, Rivera’s J.P. Garza bounced a shot into an open net from about 25 yards away to tie the score.

Barely a minute later, Rivera’s Jorge Castillo sent a shot toward the goal from about 15 yards away. It also took a bounce and went into the left corner of the net as the goalkeeper was caught out of position. A Lopez defender rushed toward the ball to try to prevent its trajectory into the net, but didn’t arrive in time.

Five minutes later, the match ended with the Raiders as winners.

The Cowboys-Huskies game also went down to the end.

“These are the types of matches you want your team to play,” Porter coach Jose Espitia said.

Early first-half goals by Oscar Garcia and Brandon Montes put the Cowboys ahead 2-0. But just before halftime, the Huskies made it 2-1 and then converted a penalty kick seconds before intermission to deadlock the score at 2.

The match remained tied until Juarez-Lincoln went up 3-2 with seven minutes left. Porter’s Garcia sent a high, arcing shot from the right side into the left corner of the net with three minutes to go, tying the score again as the game soon ended 3-3.

Thursday’s first game at Rivera saw Harlingen South defeat PSJA High 2-1.

At Hanna, San Benito downed Jubilee Brownsville 7-0, Hanna topped Laredo United 3-1 and Pace shut out Edinburg Vela 3-0.

At Los Fresnos, the host Falcons beat Edinburg Economedes 2-0, Edinburg North blanked La Joya High 1-0 and Brownsville Veterans Memorial defeated McAllen High 5-1.

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

As the third week of the UIL soccer season gets underway, the Harlingen High Lady Cardinals and Harlingen South Lady Hawks are still on fire. Each team again captured a decisive non-district victory Tuesday and is scheduled for tournament play beginning today.

One week ago, Harlingen High won at home 8-0 against Laredo LBJ. On Tuesday, the Lady Cardinals journeyed to Weslaco High to face their former district foes, the Pantherettes, and won 9-1.

Harlingen High led 4-1 at halftime.

Monique Rodriguez led the Lady Cardinals with three goals. Lauren Powell and Claire Reed each added two goals, and teammates Kay-Lane Vasquez and Alexa Gonzalez each contributed a solo tally.

“The girls took about 10 minutes to finally start getting into the game,” Harlingen High coach Debra Galvan said. “Once they did, they didn’t look back. The passing got better and more shots on goal were taken.

“The chemistry between the girls is great, and the girls coming off the bench stepped up when they went in,” Galvan added. “Overall, I am pleased with how well the girls are playing together.”

The Lady Cardinals are playing in the PSJA Tournament that starts today and runs through Saturday.

The Lady Hawks posted another big non-district win Tuesday at home against Mercedes after opening the season with victories against PSJA High (4-2) and PSJA Memorial (10-0).

South defeated the Lady Tigers 7-0. The Lady Hawks led 5-0 at halftime.

The Lady Hawks next are scheduled to play in the Donna North Tournament, which also starts today and runs through Saturday.

The San Benito Lady Greyhounds, coming off Monday’s non-district 0-0 tie with Edinburg Economedes, also are entered in the Donna North event.

BACK TO BROWNSVILLE

The San Benito and Harlingen South boys are returning to Brownsville this week to play in the inaugural South Texas Futbol Showcase that starts today with games at Brownsville Rivera, Brownsville Hanna and Los Fresnos‘ Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.

Last week, the Greyhounds, Hawks and Harlingen High Cardinals played in the 37th annual Brownsville ISD Tournament/Showcase. The Cardinals, coming off Tuesday’s 2-2 non-district tie at home against Brownsville Pace, are going to the Hidalgo Tournament this week.

In other non-district action earlier this week, South defeated Donna High 3-2 on Monday and San Benito edged Weslaco East 1-0 on Tuesday.

Both the Hawks and Greyhounds are excited about going back to a Brownsville tournament to face some strong opposition.

“The games (there) are great since we don’t have to travel so far, yet we get high-quality competition,” South coach Julian Robles said. “The Valley is packed with talented teams, and Brownsville has competitive tournaments/showcases every year.”

San Benito coach William Huerta agreed.

“It’s a good experience for the players,” Huerta said. “We get to see the players in different positions and how well they work together.”

The 18-team South Texas Futbol Showcase begins at 10 a.m. today and runs through Saturday with full 80-minute games, three per day, at each of the three sites. Similar to last week’s 37th annual BISD Tournament/Showcase, there will be no championship match.

Besides South, San Benito, Rivera, Hanna and Los Fresnos, the other participating teams are Pace, Brownsville Veterans, Brownsville Porter, Brownsville Lopez, Jubilee Brownsville, Edinburg Economedes, Edinburg North, Edinburg Vela, La Joya High, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, PSJA High, McAllen High, and Laredo United.

To open the event today, San Benito plays Jubilee Brownsville at 10 a.m. at Hanna and South goes against PSJA High at 10 a.m. at Rivera.

By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald

Starting today, boys soccer tournament action continues in Brownsville for the third straight week as the UIL season gets underway.

This week, it’s the inaugural South Texas Futbol Showcase with games played at Rivera, Hanna and Los Fresnos’ Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.

The 18-team event begins at 10 a.m. today and runs through Saturday with three full 80-minute games per day at each of the three sites. Similar to last week’s 37th annual Brownsville ISD Tournament/Showcase, there will be no championship match.

The participating teams include Brownsville schools Veterans Memorial, Hanna, Rivera, Porter, Lopez and Pace plus Jubilee Brownsville. The other 11 participants are Los Fresnos, San Benito, Harlingen South, Edinburg Economedes, Edinburg North, Edinburg Vela, La Joya High, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, PSJA High, McAllen High, and Laredo United.

“The competition (in this Futbol Showcase) is going to be strong again (just like last week),” said Rivera’s Salvador Garcia, one of the three host coaches of the tournament. “It’s a perfect time for players to make mistakes, correct them and keep getting better. It’s an opportunity for our players to get more playing time and for us to try different formations and lineups.”

There are still a lot of positive feelings for local squads from last week’s BISD Tournament. Three Brownsville teams played San Antonio Reagan, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A in the state, and did pretty well. Rivera beat Reagan 2-0, Brownsville Veterans edged the Rattlers 1-0 and Hanna took Reagan to penalties before being edged 2-1. Reagan played in last season’s 6A state final.

“We understand it is still early in the year and it was just a pre-district game,” Garcia said of the 2-0 victory over the Rattlers. “But at the same time, getting a result like that against a powerhouse (is motivating), and even more, it was great for us to play the way we did. We hope it will be a confidence booster for us.

“We might not have the talent that other schools have this year,” Garcia added, “but when we play together as a team, we can compete against anyone in our humble opinion.”

It’s a big week for Jubilee Brownsville.

“This is the first time the Jubilee Brownsville varsity soccer program competes in a tournament of such caliber,” Jubilee coach Robert Coronado said. “My boys are excited to participate, and they understand it’s a tournament to gain experience before the regular season (of district play) begins.”

Today’s 10 a.m. Futbol Showcase openers find Los Fresnos playing host to Economedes, Harlingen South playing PSJA High at Rivera and San Benito going against Jubilee Brownsville at Hanna. Also highlighting today’s schedule, Rivera plays Lopez at noon at Rivera.

STRONG SHOWINGS

The girls teams from Brownsville Veterans, Porter and Hanna played at the San Antonio Edgewood Tournament last week and did well, particularly the Lady Chargers and Cowgirls.

The Lady Chargers went 4-0 in the tournament and defeated Porter 1-0 in the championship match. The Lady Chargers’ first three wins were against San Antonio Memorial (4-0), San Antonio Sam Houston (7-1) and San Antonio Christian (2-0).

On their way to reaching the championship match, the Cowgirls defeated San Antonio Southside (3-0), Seguin (4-0) and Uvalde (1-0).

The Pace Lady Vikings played in the San Antonio ISD Tournament and recorded early tournament victories against San Antonio Holy Cross (6-0), San Antonio Roosevelt (9-0) and San Antonio Brackenridge (4-0).

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Besides the South Texas Futbol Showcase in the Lower Valley, other events this week include a tournament for the boys in Hidalgo and girls tournaments at PSJA and Donna North. The majority of Brownsville girls teams are headed to the PSJA Tournament.

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

SAN BENITO — Regardless of Mother Nature’s fickle weather whims, the soccer season goes on in the Rio Grande Valley.

There was constant light rain with cool temperatures in the 50s on Tuesday night when the San Benito Greyhounds played host to the Weslaco East Wildcats for a non-district match at Bobby Morrow Stadium.

While playing conditions could have been better, they also could have been far worse. When it was all over, the Greyhounds were just glad to walk away with a 1-0 victory.

Arturo Arratia, a junior forward, was the man of the match for the Greyhounds. His shot from the left side during the 14th minute found the mark. San Benito’s 1-0 lead provided by Arratia stood up the rest of the way.

“It wasn’t just me, it was my team,” Arratia said. “Without them I wouldn’t be here (talking about the winning goal).

“We’re just trying to get into our form for the season,” he added. “It feels good to win this game, because after every time we play, we feel more like a family. That’s what we want is to do something different (and better) for this school (in soccer).”

The Greyhounds were the ones doing the most on the attack and almost came up with a second goal with eight minutes left. A San Benito player sent a header toward the goal from close range, but the Weslaco East goalkeeper tipped the ball away at the last moment.

“You know, it’s always a good thing to win, especially on a night like this,” San Benito coach William Huerta said. “This is soccer weather. These are the nights you want to win on.

“We still have a lot of work to do,” he added. “(Still) it’s a win that feels really good. We (now) get to work on the little things we need to do day in and day out. We’ll go back and watch film to see what we need to fix (from this game) to get ready for the tournament coming up later this week and the other games we have ahead of us before our district starts (on Feb. 1).”

Last week, the Greyhounds went to the 37th annual Brownsville ISD Boys Soccer Tournament/Showcase, where they won two games and lost two. Starting Thursday, they’ll be playing at the inaugural South Texas Futbol Showcase with games at Los Fresnos, Brownsville Hanna and Brownsville Rivera.

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

It’s entirely possible that two of the Rio Grande Valley’s top girls soccer teams this UIL season can be found within the Harlingen city limits.

The Harlingen South Lady Hawks have a long-standing tradition of being one of South Texas’ premier teams since UIL girls soccer first came to the Valley in 1997. The South girls have never missed the playoffs, and that’s going back more than 20 years. In fact, the Lady Hawks have never lost a bi-district match (21-0) and have advanced to the regional tournament nine times.

Then there are the Harlingen High Lady Cardinals, who went two rounds in the playoffs one year ago and are expected to be an even better team this time around.

It should make the “Bird Bowl” quite interesting when the Lady Hawks and Lady Cardinals match up twice during District 32-6A competition. The “Bird Bowl” dates in district are Feb. 12 and March 8.

Also from 32-6A, San Benito figures to be an improved team with a new coach.

District 32-6A competition starts Feb. 1.

Here is a brief team-by-team look at each of the three Harlingen-San Benito 32-6A girls squads:

HARLINGEN SOUTH LADY HAWKS

Omar Pedroza is starting his 22th season as the Lady Hawks’ coach. South tied for second place in 32-6A last year with the Lady Cardinals, behind district champion Los Fresnos. The Lady Hawks advanced three rounds in the playoffs before being eliminated 2-1 by eventual state tournament qualifier McAllen High.

Nine starters are back for South, including goalkeeper Reid Davies, center midfielder Stephanie Torres, forward Mellory Grannum and defender Jackie Guillen.

“I think we are going to be pretty good if we stay healthy,” Pedroza said. “This year we have a bench with a little more experience, so that should help us.

“In our district, everyone is pretty good,” he added. “There will be no easy games this year.”

The Lady Hawks have played two non-district games so far this season. They defeated PSJA High 4-2 on Jan. 8 and triumphed over PSJA Memorial 10-0 last Friday.

South next plays host to Mercedes for a non-district match at 7:30 p.m. today at its mini-stadium.

HARLINGEN HIGH LADY CARDINALS

Debra Galvan is beginning her third season as the Lady Cardinals’ coach.

Last year, after capturing a 6-5 overtime victory in bi-district against Edinburg Vela, the Lady Cardinals were ousted from the playoffs 4-2 by McAllen High, which later became the first UIL Valley girls team to qualify for state.

When asked about her standouts so far, Galvan said, “Our top players this season would be forward Monique Rodriguez, center mid Claire Reed, defender Casey Charles, forward Lauren Powell, and honestly, the rest of the team is good at their positions as well.

“Our team looks great,” Galvan added. “We have depth on and off the field. The girls are able to play multiple positions. We’re working hard to go far this year. I like how they push themselves and give it their all when they’re on the field.

“We hope to have a successful season, but we know it won’t be easy so we are working hard.”

The Lady Cardinals won their first home match 8-0 against Laredo LBJ on Jan. 8. They next journey to Weslaco High today for a 7:30 p.m. non-district match against the Pantherettes.

SAN BENITO LADY GREYHOUNDS

Johnny Garza has taken over as coach for the Lady Greyhounds, who finished tied for fifth place in 32-6A one season ago.

The new coach sees plenty to like about this year’s San Benito squad.

“Right now, leading our attack is a pair of twin sisters,” Garza said. “They are forward Janie Castellanos and midfielder Lupe Castellanos. These two girls are entering their fourth year of varsity soccer and will produce many goals for our team.

“Defending for us is a pair of junior fullbacks, who are Paola Martinez and Vanessa Alcala,” Garza added. “Both of them received varsity playing time as freshmen, and now they have great poise and confidence playing in the back.”

Preparing for district is the most important thing, Garza said.

“Entering 32-6A, every team has a chance to win,” he said. “During the early portion of our schedule, I am trying to find the best 11 on the field with the best tactics to allow my girls to be successful and be ready for Feb. 1.”

Coming off last week’s 3-2 non-district win against Mission Veterans Memorial, the Lady Greyhounds were scheduled to play a non-district match Monday at home against Edinburg Economedes.

Against Mission Veterans, scoring for the Lady Greyhounds were Martinez, Aaliyah Garza and Janie Castellanos.

By ROY HESS

Staff Writer

Last soccer season marked a step forward for the Harlingen High Cardinals.

They returned to the state playoffs for the first time in 10 years under first-year coach Johnny Guillen, who was a standout for the Cardinals as a player before graduating in 2006.

Expectations for the Cardinals are to duplicate or improve upon their showing of 2018 with another trip to the postseason.

So far, mainly due to many injuries, it’s been a slow start to the UIL season that opened Jan. 3 for the Cardinals.

Guillen said the team’s main goal at this point is to be ready and healthy for the start of District 32-6A competition Feb. 1.

“When we’re healthy and at our full potential with everybody playing, we can be great,” Guillen said. “The main thing right now is getting back to normal and getting healthy before district starts.

“They’re not major injuries,” Guillen added. “I’m just trying to play it safe for district. At the end of the season last year, I told myself I was going to schedule us some tough non-district opponents (in 2019), and that way there would be no excuses that we didn’t get ourselves ready for district.”

The Cardinals coach said his team’s best showing so far in 2019 was a 2-2 tie against Houston Aldine during the first weekend of the season at a tournament in Houston.

There are some experienced players back for the Cardinals. They include three-year starters on defense in Lorenzo Rodriguez and Luis Garcia. Also in the mix is Skylar Zapata.

Guillen said Jacob Garza is a utility player who can play any position on the field, and is also a three-year starter. A four-year starter in the midfield is Jesus Berlanga, plus the Cardinals have three-year starter Jesus Reyna up front.

“What I have liked so far is the team chemistry we are playing with,” Guillen said. “We are playing a lot more as a team rather than playing as individuals.”

Harlingen High’s challenging non-district schedule continues at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, as the Cardinals play host to the Brownsville Pace Vikings at the Cardinals’ Mini-Stadium.

Here is a look at the other two 32-6A boys teams in the Harlingen-San Benito area:

HARLINGEN SOUTH HAWKS

The Hawks came up one point shy of tying the Cardinals for fourth place in 32-6A last season. The Hawks last advanced to the postseason in 2017, and in 2016 had lost a district “play-in” match after tying for fourth place.

This season the goal is to make it back to the playoffs with a strong showing in 32-6A.

Like the Cardinals, the Hawks opened the season at a tournament in Houston the first weekend of January. Both the Hawks and Cardinals just got done playing in the past weekend’s 37th annual Brownsville ISD Tournament/Showcase, where each of the Harlingen schools played four matches.

The Hawks won three and lost one at the BISD event. Their victories came against McAllen High (3-1), Edinburg Economedes (6-5) and Brownsville St. Joseph (6-0).

“We are very happy with our results so far and have been improving as a team,” South coach Julian Robles said. “We are still relatively young as a team together, and after our Houston trip our chemistry has been rising.

“We are still having a hard time finding the back of the net, but that can be practiced and improved,” Robles added. “The team’s attitude, work ethic and the desire to learn has been its foundation this year.”

The South coach said the Hawks are led by five seniors. They include goalkeeper Jacob Garcia, defenders Angel Ortega, Eric Lopez and Hunter Massey, and forward Jose Lerma.

The team’s starting lineup is rounded out by four sophomores, two juniors and one freshman.

“One of the sophomores is Leo Torres, who was the 32-6A newcomer of the year last season,” Robles said. “We also have freshman Joaquin Ovalle, who has been growing up quickly at the varsity level.”

The Hawks resume their non-district schedule at 7:30 p.m. today at Donna High.

SAN BENITO GREYHOUNDS

Like the Hawks and Cardinals, the Greyhounds played four games at the BISD Tournament/Showcase during the past weekend. The Greyhounds won twice and lost twice. The victories were against Austin St. Stephens (2-1) and Donna High (4-0).

William Huerta returns as San Benito’s third-year coach.

Just like South, the Greyhounds wound up one point from tying for fourth place in 32-6A last season. San Benito’s last trip to the postseason was 2014.

“I think our team has been competitive with the scrimmages and non-district games we have had,” Huerta said. “I think with our non-district schedule and the tournaments we’re playing, we should be ready to compete in district.”

Top players for the Greyhounds this season include midfielder Isidoro Najera, forward Senovio Cerdan, defender Axel Rivera and goalkeeper Gonzalo Villarreal.

Also, Fernando Perez and Arturo Arratia scored San Benito’s goals in the 2-1 win against St. Stephens.

Non-district play continues for the Greyhounds at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at home against Weslaco East.

By ROY HESS | Staff Writer

It was an ideal showing for Brownsville’s public school teams during Saturday’s final day of matches at the 37th annual Brownsville ISD Boys Soccer Tournament/Showcase.

In fact, all six of Brownsville’s UIL boys squads won on the last day.

The most impressive victory Saturday among the local teams was Rivera’s 2-0 triumph on its home field against San Antonio Reagan, which is ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 6A by the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches. The Rattlers made it to the 6A state final last season.

This was Reagan’s first time to play at the BISD event.

Rivera hadn’t been playing all that consistently at the BISD Tournament that started Thursday and ran through Saturday with 24 teams playing full 80-minute matches at Brownsville Veterans Memorial, Hanna and Rivera. There was no tournament championship game this year, only three or four matches guaranteed for each participant.

Regardless of whatever issues Rivera might have had previously, the Raiders were simply unbeatable against a top-level opponent in Reagan on Saturday.

“The guys played great,” Rivera coach Salvador Garcia said. “Hopefully they believe now what we’ve been telling them since the very beginning is true. We are a team with a lot of potential.”

Reagan was coming off Friday’s 1-0 setback against Brownsville Veterans. The Rattlers won their first tournament game Thursday against Hanna 2-1 in penalty kicks, but lost two players due to red cards in the process.

It was a scoreless first half between Rivera and Reagan, but second-half goals by J.P. Garza and Alex Mendez lifted the Raiders to victory.

Meanwhile, Porter went 4-0 in the BISD event. The Cowboys won their final game 2-0 on Saturday against McAllen Rowe. Porter led 1-0 at halftime thanks to Xavier Mateos’ goal. Teammate Edward Rodriguez added an insurance goal during the second half.

“Well, the main thing (about playing in this tournament) is that our boys have been gaining confidence,” Porter coach Jose Espitia said. “Everyone has been adding minutes, and nobody got hurt (so that’s good).”

Hanna went 3-1 in the tournament. The Golden Eagles downed Laredo United South 3-1 on Saturday, breaking out of a 1-0 halftime lead and adding a pair of goals during the final 40 minutes.

Scoring Hanna’s goals were Ricardo Sandate, Marko Garibay and Luis Renteria.

“It was a great weekend of full (80-minute) games versus very competitive teams,” Eagles coach Reyes Prado said. “This (new) format helps way more than playing mini-games or having a long tournament. The guarantee of playing full games gets the teams ready for what is in front of us (soon in district).”

Another Brownsville team going 3-1 in the tournament was Pace. The Vikings led 1-0 at the half and defeated McAllen High 4-0 on Saturday thanks to three goals by Johnnatan Mendoza and another tally by Erick Chavez.

“Yes, this (tournament) was definitely a good start to the season for us despite a (3-0) loss to Laredo United South (on Friday),” Pace coach Mario A. Zamora said. “We won three of four games with zero goals against us in the three wins. And I have to say it, we learned a lot from the loss.

“Overall, it was a good showcase for us, but we’re still working on perfection,” Zamora added.

Lopez went 3-1 during the tournament, too. The Lobos won 2-0 on Saturday against Roma with first-half goals by Alan Reyes and Danny Cruz.

“Playing these full-time games in this tournament helps a lot,” Lopez coach Amadeo Escandon said. “It helps us see where we’re at as far as being physical, how our cardio is and all that, so these games are great. We know that’s the way the games are going to be in district, so we’ve learned a lot about our team from this tournament.

“Thanks to all the fans who are always supporting us,” the Lobos coach added. “We’re just starting, so hopefully by the guidance of God we’ll have another good season.”

Brownsville Veterans coach Alberto Vasquez said his team was a little emotionally and physically drained Saturday after its 1-0 victory against Reagan on Friday night.

The Chargers received all the game they wanted and more Saturday against Los Fresnos. Brownsville Veterans prevailed 1-0 on a second-half goal by Mark Boswell to complete the tournament with three wins and no losses.

“The way this tournament was structured guaranteed that teams would have good competition throughout the three days,” Vasquez said. “That’s really the only way a team is going to get ready for district is by playing these types of games. We went against quality opponents (in the tournament). They challenge your team and expose whatever weaknesses your team might have.

“We got a lot out of it,” he added. “Our players are a little banged up and tired, but overall, we’re good for what’s ahead.”