By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Recognition from peers is perhaps the best type of honor to receive.

Porter soccer coaches Jose Espitia and Eduardo “Eddie” Buentello are recipients of such recognition.

The Texas Association of Soccer Coaches (TASCO) has named Espitia as the Region IV Class 5A boys coach of the year. Also, Buentello was selected as this season’s top 5A boys assistant coach from Region IV.

The awards come barely one month after Porter captured the 5A championship at the UIL state tournament. The Cowboys completed a 28-0-1 season by prevailing 10-9 in penalty kicks to defeat Frisco Wakeland 3-2 in the 5A state final April 16 at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Field.

The Porter coach said the honor from TASCO caught him by surprise a little bit.

“I really wasn’t aware of this award, but it’s always a blessing to get recognized,” said Espitia, a 1997 Lopez graduate and former Lobos assistant who now boasts a 205-46-27 record as Porter’s coach after having just completed his ninth season directing the Cowboys. “It is a reflection of the great accomplishment of our student-athletes and my coaching staff.

“All of us believed in the goal for this season (of winning state), and together, along with our administration, teachers and staff, we worked to make that goal a reality,” Espitia added. “I’m blessed to be able to coach and make a difference in the lives of great students at Porter.”

Espitia said he is equally pleased to see Buentello receive an award from TASCO. Buentello, who is in charge of the goalkeepers, just completed his sixth season with the Cowboys.

“Coach Buentello is a great part of this program and it feels great to see him being recognized,” Espitia said. “He deserves every recognition that he gets because he has dedicated 100 percent to Porter soccer.

“He is very knowledgeable about soccer, very passionate, hard-working and has been very loyal to our program,” Espitia added. “I’m happy for him.”

Along with Buentello, a 1983 Hanna graduate, Porter’s other assistant coaches are Adrian Navarro and Antonio Serrano.

Regarding the TASCO honor, Buentello said, “It’s just thanks to the team and God that has made this possible. I want to thank Coach Espitia for giving me the support and believing in me. It’s just a reflection of the season the team had.

“As coaches, we wanted to give our players the support,” he added. “You can not describe how hard these players worked all season long, and it paid off for them. Winning state was not only for Porter. It was for all of Brownsville and all of the soccer people involved, including the (school) administration and everybody. We’re just so happy and blessed.”

The 2016 season was quite a memorable journey for the Cowboys, who brought home their school’s second state championship in soccer to go along with the one Porter won as a 5A team in 2006.

Porter now has become the only school in the Rio Grande Valley to capture more than one state title in UIL team competition in any sport.

Immediately after the Cowboys prevailed against Frisco Wakeland last month with their dramatic victory in penalty kicks, Marco Don Juan, a junior midfielder for the Cowboys, said he would never forget the influence his coaches played in the team’s drive to the championship.

“What I’m going to remember most is that our coaches were always behind us and they were stubborn in a good way by always pushing us for a good reason,” Don Juan said. “I’m just proud to be part of this team, this family, and I love my teammates.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Tino Villarreal is entering a new phase of his coaching career as athletic director at St. Joseph Academy.

Last July, Villarreal, 35, was promoted from first assistant and offensive coordinator to head football coach and now adds another title, which becomes official on Monday. He takes over for Ben Sandoval, an assistant coach on the football staff, who has served as interim AD since last summer.

“It seems that there has been a lot of support behind this decision since it was announced a few weeks ago,” said Villarreal, who also has coached soccer and guided the Bloodhounds to the TAPPS state semifinals during each of the past two seasons. “I graduated from this school in 1999 and I’ve coached here for 15 years on and off, and to be able to oversee the athletic department is definitely something very humbling, especially because of the support I’ve received since the news went out. The emails and phone calls I’ve gotten have been overwhelming.”

Before graduating in 1999, Villarreal played football on the Bloodhounds’ offensive line under late coach Elvis Hernandez, who the new AD says continues to be an important influence in his life. Hernandez died in February 2015 at age 53.

The Hernandez family was honored at a football game last season and the players wore decals in memory of the late coach on their helmets during the 2015 campaign.

“Elvis was a St. Joe graduate who returned to coach here, and our players didn’t know much about him, but now they do because of the stories I told them,” Villarreal said. “Elvis (who later coached at Santa Rosa and Progreso) always had a love and passion for St. Joe. I really feel those are shoes that I have to fill and it’s really what anchors me here.”

Villarreal has coached football at SJA’s junior high and high school levels since 1999 and became a full-time varsity assistant on the current coaching staff in 2009.

With Villarreal as head coach, the Bloodhounds went 8-3 last football season with a return to the TAPPS playoffs as the Bloodhounds were hosts of a postseason game at Canales Field for the first time in approximately 30 years.

The soccer team ended its season in February with an 18-6-1 record after reaching the state semifinals.

As AD, Villarreal said he will be stepping down as soccer coach so he can provide more attention to all of the school’s sports, particularly those taking place during the spring semester.

“Our students are very hungry for a state title in soccer, and we feel that we’re almost there,” he said. “My job is to find the right coach who can lead us to that goal. I’ve talked to our players (about becoming AD) and they’ve congratulated me. I think they trust me to find the right person who will propel us forward in soccer towards a state championship. I’d like to have that coaching position filled before the end of the school year.”

Villarreal, also a member of the National Hispanic Institute board and the Brownsville Community Improvement board, is intent upon promoting SJA athletics in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.

“I think one of the main priorities here for us is to kind of put a flag up for St. Joe to let people know that we exist, that we’re around and that we’re competitive in our sports,” Villarreal said. “We have amazing student-athletes here, and I want to fight for us to be recognized. Because we’re a private school and none of our district opponents are here in the Valley, sometimes we kind of get lost in the cracks.

“For years we’ve had a phenomenal track program and our basketball teams also have been successful, and I think football and soccer are getting some recognition now, too,” he added. “But I’d like to see a lot more of St. Joe out there in the public. If it means hosting our own tournaments or inviting other teams on to our campus to play us, I’d like to see a lot more of that. It could bring us additional exposure to let more people know that we’re competitive here.”

Villarreal sees the coaching situation at SJA as a unique one since almost all of the coaches are past graduates of the school who are devoted to seeing the Bloodhounds prosper in athletics and everything else.

“The passion and love they bring to the school is a very personal one because we’re a very small-knit, close community,” Villarreal said. “We all treat each other as classmates, and there’s really no real gap from generation to generation. Once you’re an alum of this school, you just know who everyone is.

“Bringing people together like that (as coaches) and continuing to develop future Bloodhounds is something special that we cherish here at our school, particularly in athletics,” he added. “To me, it’s involving everyone in a team effort to push our programs forward together, whether it’s boys sports, girls sports or even middle-school sports.

“I feel we’re knocking on the door, and I would like us to knock on the door at all levels in both genders to be an athletic program on the rise, not just in a sport here and there. We have unfinished business here and I’m eager to undertake it.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Another day, another chance.

That’s the way the Porter Cowgirls must now view their Class 5A best-of-three bi-district softball playoff series with Sharyland Pioneer after dropping Friday’s opener 8-2 at home against the Lady Diamondbacks.

The second game of the series is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Pioneer with the third game, if necessary, to follow 30 minutes after Game 2.

District 31-5A champion Pioneer (22-8) thrived on the longball as five of its first six runs came via three home runs. They sailed over the left-center and center wall.

“After a little while, once we picked up some rhythm, we started hitting the longball (in the fourth inning),” Pioneer coach Orlando Garcia said. “We later came back to ‘small ball,’ and that seemed to work for us, too.

“Like I told our girls, we wanted to get Game 1 over here in Brownsville because we know that Porter is tough,” Garcia added. “It was important for us to win the first one going into the next game, and possibly a third game, at our home field. Hopefully we can finish things off in Game 2.”

The winner of the best-of-three series advances to next week’s area round to play Calallen or Eagle Pass Winn.

Meanwhile, District 32-5A fourth-place Porter (15-14) turned in a fairly solid showing defensively apart from allowing three homers, but could never really get anything going at the plate, finishing with only three hits compared to seven — four of them for extra bases — by the Lady Diamondbacks.

“We need to be more aggressive at the plate — plain and simple,” Porter coach Ariel Arredondo said. “Even if we have the best defense out there and Pioneer comes up and gets base hits or home runs, and we don’t hit the ball, we’ll still lose, even if we play errorless softball.”

Pioneer led 1-0 after two innings thanks to an RBI single to right field in the second by Ashley Briseno before it became 3-1 after four. The Lady Diamondbacks went up 4-1 in the top of the fifth inning and then erupted for four runs in the top of the seventh before the Cowgirls added their second run in the bottom of the seventh.

Pioneer was sparked by Emily Michki, who hit a solo homer in the top of the fifth and added a two-run shot in the top of the seventh. Previously, teammate Fabiola Gonzalez, No. 9 in the batting order, sent a two-run blast over the left-center wall in the top of the fourth to put her team ahead 3-0, and that was pretty much all the scoring Pioneer needed.

A passed ball allowed Brissa Rivera to sprint home from third base for Porter’s first run in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 3-1.

A double to the left-center wall in the bottom of the seventh by Porter’s Krista Quiroz advanced Marquel Rivera to third base and she then came home on an error by the center fielder to account for the Cowgirls’ second run to make it 8-2.

Pioneer’s Mariah Youngblood went the distance for the victory on the mound with six strikeouts and two walks. Brissa Rivera also went the distance in taking the loss for Porter with one strikeout and four walks.

The Lady DIamondbacks had swept Porter in two games last season in bi-district and had beaten the Cowgirls 3-2 earlier this year during the opening round of the Laredo Tournament.

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Thanks to Monday’s college athletic scholarship signing, Porter’s Karla Sosa is taking her volleyball talents to the Texas Panhandle.

Sosa, a 5-foot-10 middle blocker and three-year starter for the Cowgirls, signed with Frank Phillips College in Borger and will play next school year for the Lady Plainsmen.

The Cowgirls’ senior standout is going to a successful junior college program that compiled a 35-6 record and advanced to the NJCAA Division I national tournament in 2015.

Sosa, who earned first-team 32-5A All-District and All-Metro honors last fall, participated in a recent tryout conducted by Frank Phillips coach Casey Williams and it led to a scholarship offer.

“This feels amazing, and it’s a blessing,” said Sosa, who plans to study nursing. “It’s something not everybody gets to do, and all in all, I’m pretty much excited about it.”

The distance between Borger and Brownsville almost kept Sosa from saying yes to the Lady Plainsmen.

“I went up there (for the tryout), and I was kind of iffy at first because it’s such a long drive,” Sosa said. “But after I practiced with the team, they told me they liked my attitude and what I did, and it was kind of mutual because I liked them, too, so we made an agreement.”

Laura Fortner coached Sosa all three years she was on the Porter varsity. Fortner said Monday marked the first time one of her volleyball players signed to play in college.

“I’m pretty young in the coaching world, and this is my first player to sign, so it feels very good,” Fortner said. “This means a lot because when I first got here (as Porter’s coach) they told me the volleyball team hadn’t been doing all that well. To me, seeing the passion and love I have for the sport was instilled in a player like Karla means a lot.

“I feel that Karla is very self-driven,” Fortner added. “There’s only so much a coach can do. She’s one of the few who will put in the work during the summer when no one is watching. Karla saw the level of play there (when she went to her tryout) and what it’s going to take (to succeed), so it kind of opened her eyes. She knows it’s not going to be easy, but I feel that her self-drive is going to help her a lot.”

Sosa is also a standout softball player in the outfield for Porter, but she will miss the upcoming playoffs due to a broken finger. She said she will be there to provide support for the Cowgirls in the postseason.

Beyond softball, Sosa said Fortner had a lot to do with sparking her interest in volleyball.

“She kind of made me love the game more,” Sosa said of her coach. “It made me decide to work harder throughout the years, and here I am. I’ve been recognized for (what I’ve done in) volleyball, and it feels good to be considered a threat (as a standout player).

“I’d just like to thank my coaches, my teammates, and most importantly, God,” she added.

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Golf has been a major part of Julie Lucio’s life since around the time she first picked up a club as a 5-year-old.

With constant practice, the state-bound Hanna sophomore has become quite a standout golfer, improving her average to 74.5 strokes over 18 holes.

It helps that she comes from a golfing family. Jesse Lucio, her father, and Bobby Lucio, her uncle, are well-known local golf instructors and coaches. She also benefits from having Adrian Garcia as her coach at Hanna. He’s in his 18th year of directing the Golden Eagles’ golf squads that recently captured boys and girls team titles at the District 32-6A tournament in Harlingen.

When asked what it is about golf that she enjoys so much, Lucio said it’s the individual competition plus having the camaraderie and support of her teammates.

“I love the sport,” she said. “The family got me interested in it right away, and just being on the course is a great feeling. It feels like the place for me to be, like my second home.

“Golf is an individual sport, so it’s just me and the course,” she added. “I want to beat my score from before and I just try to get better every time.”

The next big challenge for Lucio in her chosen sport comes today as she plays for the first time in the two-day UIL Class 6A state tournament at Georgetown’s Legacy Hills Golf Course.

“Just to shoot my average or lower at state would make me very happy,” said Lucio, who is the two-time 32-6A individual champion.

Although Lucio is the only one from Brownsville who qualified, some other players she is familiar with will be at state, too. They include Harlingen High’s Hannah Greer and Weslaco High’s Mclean Beckwith, both individual 6A qualifiers from the Valley as well.

Other Valley golfers — all boys — who have qualified for state individually are Sharyland High’s Jun Min Lee in Class 5A, Raymondville’s James Alfaro in Class 4A and Lyford’s Jorge Serna in Class 3A. Also, Sharyland High’s girls have qualified as a team in 5A.

Lucio is believed to be the first female golfer from Brownsville ISD to qualify for the state tournament.

“This is something well-deserved for Julie,” Adrian Garcia said. “She’s very consistent and she doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.

“I see her as definitely one of the top 20 golfers out of the 72 players in the (6A girls) field,” he added. “Anything can happen. It’s golf, and that’s the beauty of it.”

The Hanna coach’s son, Santiago Garcia, is a sophomore as well. He was the individual champion for the boys at the 32-6A tournament for the second straight year, just like Lucio for the girls. He and senior Alejandra Rodriguez came close to qualifying for state at the regional tournament earlier this month in San Antonio.

“It’s a motivation for me to see Julie go to state,” said Santiago Garcia, who lost a playoff at regionals to barely miss out on qualifying for a trip to Georgetown. “I’m proud of her.

“I’m glad Julie and I have each other there (on the Hanna team as fellow sophomores),” he added. “I can play against her and one day she’ll beat me and another day I’ll beat her, so the competition’s always good.”

Santiago Garcia’s teammates on the Hanna “A” boys squad that won 32-6A on April 5 are Alex Cortez, Austin O’Brien, Ruben Samaniego and Chris Gonzalez.

Besides Lucio and Alejandra Rodriguez, other players on the Hanna “A” girls squad that is a two-time district champion are Alexis Rodriguez, Kimberly Garcia and Lucy Lopez. Alejandra Rodriguez is headed to college on a golf scholarship.

“I would just say thank you to my coach, my teammates and my dad and mom (Ada),” Lucio said. “My teammates make me work harder and play better. I love my team.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

The Lopez Lobos’ 2016 soccer season will be remembered as the year they advanced to the UIL state tournament in Georgetown for the fourth time, tying a Rio Grande Valley record shared with Southmost neighbor Porter.

The Lobos (21-3-1), whose season came to an all-too-soon finish following a 2-1 loss to Austin Lake Travis in the Class 6A state semifinals April 15, will also be remembered as a team with strong faith — faith in everyone on their roster and faith in God.

“This team is unique,” said Ruben Sauceda, a senior midfielder/defender for the Lobos. “This team is made of faith and a belief in each other. It’s a team I wouldn’t trade for any other team.”

Prior to Lopez’s fourth appearance at state last weekend, teammate German Vera, a senior defensive midfielder, said, “We look for help from God every day, and I believe that’s the most important thing that is keeping us moving forward.”

Led by a group of determined and focused seniors along with contributions from some up-and-coming underclassmen, the Lobos continually moved forward from the start of the season in January.

Their accomplishments were many, including a District 32-6A championship with a 12-2 record and five victories in the playoffs to secure a return trip to Georgetown.

Along the way, Lopez reached the regional tournament for the sixth time in nine years and played in the regional final for the fourth time in six seasons.

A couple of weeks ago, assistant coach Abraham Torres described the 2016 Lobos by saying, “This is an all-around, well-balanced team that works very hard, so I think it’s a team that is prepared to do well. Some of the players have had family members, including uncles and maybe some older brothers who have played for past Lopez teams that have done well.

“The players have set the bar pretty high for themselves,” Torres added. “It’s a (winning) tradition, and they want to do well, too.”

Lopez won the Class 4A state title in 2004 and finished as the Class 5A state runner-up in 2009. The Lobos lost in the 5A state semifinals in 2014.

Lobos coach Amadeo Escandon said the trip to state this year meant a lot because sister school Porter went as well in Class 5A. It was the first time two Brownsville squads advanced to Georgetown during the same season.

“Two teams from the same area of the city were representing the entire region (at state), and that made it special,” Escandon said. “(Porter) coach (Jose) Espitia (a former Lopez assistant) and I have a close relationship as coaches and outside of our professional careers.

“The players we have coming back next year already know how hard it is to get to state and have already started working towards that goal,” Escandon added.

Vera and Sauceda were team captains this season for Lopez along with Benito Cazares, a senior central defender, and Allan Ramos, a senior midfielder on the wing.

The remainder of the Lobos’ lineup consisted of Andrew Flores, a freshman, at goalkeeper and Ulysses Ortegon and Ernesto Pulido as defenders. The midfielders included Alan Reyes and Jose Echavarria with Edson Solis at forward.

Echavarria, a sophomore attacking midfielder with “Chevy” as his nickname, sparked the Lobos with 17 goals and 20 assists.

Leo Casanova was a starting defender prior to being injured in the Lobos’ third playoff game. His replacement in the lineup was Arturo Salazar.

Other players helping off the bench included Sebastian Benavides, Eloy Lozoya, Esequiel Gonzalez and Jose Alviar.

The Lobos’ path to Georgetown included playoff victories against Edinburg Economedes (6-1), La Joya High (4-1), La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (2-1), Schertz Clemons (3-2) and San Antonio Reagan (1-0).

Then came state.

Against Lake Travis in the 6A semifinals, the Lobos fell behind 2-0 during the first half. They rallied with a goal by Ortegon on an assist by Cazares with 10 1/2 minutes remaining to make it 2-1, but that was as close as they came to Lake Travis’ lead.

“I’ve never been on a team like this one, it’s an unforgettable team,” Ortegon said. “We gave it our all, but in the end, it just wasn’t enough.”

Escandon said he has known several of the players on this year’s squad since they were children, including Ramos and Vera, who played soccer with Escandon’s children, Juvian and Christie, in elementary school, so it was a bittersweet experience to see the season end short of a state title.

“We made adjustments at halftime and came out on fire the second half,” Escandon said. “Unfortunately, we ran out of time.

“The second half went a lot better, and that’s the team that I’ve been seeing play all season long,” added Escandon, who just completed his 19th season of guiding the Lobos. “I’m just proud of these guys. I always give thanks to God for putting me in this situation and giving me the opportunity to work with athletes like these. To me, they’re the best in the world.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

What were the chances of Brownsville bringing home back-to-back UIL state championships in soccer by teams with unbeaten records?

As it turns out, the odds were pretty good.

More than a week has passed, and understandably, the Porter Cowboys are still celebrating the Class 5A state title they captured April 16 in dramatic fashion by prevailing 10-9 in penalty kicks to defeat highly regarded and previously undefeated Frisco Wakeland 3-2 at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Field.

Such a remarkable feat by the Cowboys (28-0-1) added another chapter to Brownsville’s legacy in the sport at the high school level.

For that reason, don’t expect the Cowboys to stop celebrating anytime soon.

“To win a state title feels awesome,” said Marco Don Juan, a junior midfielder for Porter. “It’s what I’ve wanted since the first day I stepped on the Porter campus as a freshman. We worked so hard and this is our reward.

“What I’m going to remember most is that our coaches were always behind us and they were stubborn in a good way by always pushing us for a good reason,” he added. “I’m just proud to be part of this team … this family … and I love my teammates.”

One year earlier, on the same field in Georgetown, the Rivera Raiders won the inaugural Class 6A state championship in boys soccer and finished with a 28-0 record. The Raiders defeated Katy Cinco Ranch 2-0 in the 6A title match.

Rivera finished as the No. 2 team nationally in the Topdrawersoccer.com high school winter rankings one year ago. Porter was No. 4 nationally in the same rankings last week.

To win state is an amazing feeling for everyone involved, as capturing back-to-back state crowns has brought added respect and pride to the Rio Grande Valley, especially to Brownsville.

Actually, the latest championship marks the Valley’s sixth overall title in UIL boys soccer, including four by Brownsville teams. Previously, Lopez claimed the Class 4A championship in 2004, Porter captured its first 5A title in 2006, Hidalgo won the 4A crown in 2009 and Sharyland High was the 5A title in 2012 to go with Rivera’s 6A title in 2015.

Also, finishing as the state runner-up for the Valley were Lopez (2009), Hanna (2013), Valley View (2014) and Progreso this season.

Porter also advanced to state in 1984 and 2011 before winning it all for the first time in 2006.

Such successful showings at state have created some pretty high expectations for Valley teams, particularly those in Brownsville. After seeing Brownsville produce back-to-back champions, every Valley school now considers getting to state and winning it all as a realistic goal.

“It just tells you something about the level of soccer athletes we have here,” Brownsville Veterans Memorial coach Alberto Vasquez said. “Their love for soccer is shown by how far they go (in the playoffs). That is what they love to do and it’s what they think about 24/7.

“Right now, I think all of the players (at our school) are already thinking about next year as well as the coaches. The thought process is ‘What do we need to do to get better to make sure we’re there next year?’ The mentality nowadays is ‘We’re going for a state title.’ It’s nothing else (short of that) because we know we can accomplish it. We see teams around us do it and we know we’re at their level or pretty close to it, so it’s something seen as attainable. That’s the pride (involved with Brownsville soccer).”

For the moment and foreseeable future, the accolades belong to Porter.

As state champions, it’s the Cowboys’ turn in the spotlight. They’ve just completed a demanding journey that started quite some time before the 2016 season began. It was a multi-season journey that mirrors the march to success completed by Rivera in 2015.

The Porter players and coaches thought they had the team to make it to state last season, but a 1-0 loss to eventual state tournament finalist Georgetown East View at the 2015 regional tournament in Corpus Christi ended the Cowboys’ campaign short of Georgetown.

One year ago, the Porter players had promised coach Jose Espitia they would win state and dedicate the championship to Maria Espitia, their coach’s mother who died April 13, 2014. When the Cowboys weren’t able to fulfill their promise last season, it was a disappointment that served to motivate them in 2016.

The late Maria Espitia was on the minds of the Porter coaches and players when they came through with a championship against Frisco Wakeland (25-1-1) on April 16.

“I made a promise to God before the (state final) game that as soon as we were declared champions, I was going to run to the center circle and kneel down to thank Him for His blessings,” Espitia said. “I dedicated our victory to God and to my mom in heaven.”

There were other factors surrounding Porter’s fourth appearance at state that made it such a remarkable experience.

Jose Nava, a sophomore and the Cowboys’ regular goalkeeper, fell ill just before Porter’s state semifinal game April 14 against El Paso Eastlake. The Porter coaches, deciding they wanted someone who was feeling 100 percent guarding the net, opted to go with freshman Mario Rios as the starter.

Rios did so well in Porter’s 4-1 semifinal win against Eastlake that the coaches decided to keep him as the starter for the final. Called upon to perform in a high-pressure situation, Rios made his only two starts of the season at the state tournament.

“Mario has a lot of goalkeeping experience and had trained all season long despite only playing a few minutes here and there,” Espitia said. “He had never started for us until the state semifinal. He waited patiently for an opportunity and God rewarded him at the end. He did a great job against El Paso, so we decided to keep him in there for the final. He was great under the goal.”

Espitia is assisted by coaches Adrian Navarro, Antonio Serrano and Eddie Buentello, whose primary responsibility is the goalkeepers.

“We had been telling our players that if they put in hard work, had discipline and if they believed, it would pay off and anything could happen,” Buentello said. “We (as coaches) just wanted to support them because they have such a great heart.”

In the final, goals during regulation by Alexis Armendariz, a junior forward, gave Porter leads of 1-0 and 2-1. But Wakeland came up with a goal that bounced off the left post and went in with only 1:09 to go in regulation that eventually sent the match to penalties tied at 2 after twenty minutes of scoreless overtime.

What happened next was a tense, heart-stopping shootout as the PKs went 10 rounds and involved a total of 20 players, 10 for each side.

Porter went first in the PKs and made all 10 of its attempts. When the 10th Wakeland player took his PK, the ball hit the right post and bounced away, giving the 10-9 sudden-death victory to Porter.

Making their PK attempts for Porter from first to last were Uriel Sepulveda, Don Juan, Enrique Soto, Armendariz, Harambe Garcia, Anthony Cuellar, Esteban Mata, Angel Silva, Luis Lara and Ricardo Vidal.

“We had the faith and confidence that we were going to win,” said Alexis Anzures, a senior attacking midfielder/forward. “We weren’t nervous at all. We just knew we were going to win. It was our time. It was our moment to be state champions.”

Added Soto, a senior midfielder and team captain along with Sepulveda, “God put this game in front of us so we could win it. It was all about faith. We never lost our faith. It’s something that will be in my heart forever.”

Espitia said he had a pre-determined list of 10 players who would take the PKs. He said two of the players on the list were cramping and were replaced by Lara and Vidal.

“I called roll (for the PKs) and their response was ‘listo,’ which means ready,” Espitia said. “Two of them didn’t answer their call (due to cramping), so I just looked for two reliable seniors who could take on that responsibility. They were Luis Lara and Ricky Vidal. I wasn’t going to pressure them if they weren’t physically or mentally ready. I’m just glad we were perfect from the penalty mark.”

Armendariz, who totaled 31 goals on the season for the District 32-5A champion Cowboys, was named the MVP of the 5A boys championship game. Other Porter players selected to the all-tournament team at state were Anzures, Don Juan and Rios.

Additional players who contributed considerable amounts of playing time for the Cowboys this season included brothers Daniel and Roberto Briseno, Omar Estrada, Jose Pardillo, Fernando Trigo, Josue Reyna, Caleb Castillo, Gerardo Perez and Agustin Pizano. Also, Jaime Gomez was Porter’s goalkeeper for defending PKs and he was called upon in the 5A final.

In all, the Cowboys won seven playoff matches en route to capturing the state title. The first five of those wins came against Edinburg Vela (2-0), Calallen (4-3 in PKs), Sharyland High (2-0), Alamo Heights (4-1) and Pace (2-1 in overtime).

Espitia said it’s a shining moment, not just for Porter, but for all of Brownsville soccer.

“Thanks to Rivera, our guys started believing (last year) that it could happen, and now we’ve won a second state championship at our school,” the Porter coach said. “Rivera did it, so we felt we could do it. Hopefully someone else believes they can do it next year, and maybe it can be us again.

“It’s very possible,” Espitia added. “Our athletes may not have the money or the resources, but they have big hearts and great faith. I’m very blessed to have the athletes that we have. This is something great and I think it’s a lifetime memory for all of us.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

Estuardo Teran sees playing soccer in college while pursuing his undergraduate degree in kinesiology as an ideal situation for his immediate future.

That future became a foreseeable reality Friday as the senior central defender/midfielder for the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers signed a college athletic scholarship agreement to attend Our Lady of the Lake University of San Antonio and play for the Saints.

“This is what I’ve been working for a lot the whole (school) year, and actually last year, too,” said Teran, who started two seasons for the Chargers and earned first-team all-district honors at defender as a senior. “It was my goal to be able to play soccer at the college level, and I would do anything to reach it. I trained hard every day and even on the weekends just to get better. It’s given me an opportunity to be here where I am right now.”

Friday’s on-campus signing ceremony brought together Teran’s family, teammates, classmates and Brownsville ISD staff members. There was definitely a celebratory atmosphere to mark the scholarship signing of another Brownsville Veterans athlete who is going on to college.

Teran was a key member of the Chargers squad that finished as the District 32-6A runner-up this season and advanced to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

“An event like this is what we’re in this for (as teachers and coaches),” said Alberto Vasquez, the Chargers’ coach. “The best thing that we want for our athletes is to have an opportunity to go play at the next level, and not just to play, but to attend a university (and earn a degree).

“Estuardo was a central defender/holding midfielder for us, and he had the versatility that he could help us in any part of the field, whether it was on defense, in the midfield or even in an attacking role, really,” Vasquez added. “He had the attitude that he would do whatever was best for the team, and that’s the role he accepted.”

Also on hand for the occasion was Our Lady of the Lake soccer coach Shane Hurley, who said Teran made quite a positive impression at a recent tryout.

“I think he’ll make a very significant impact on our roster,” Hurley said of his new signee.

Teran said he began playing soccer at age 3, which was about the same time he started learning Tae Kwon Do. He’s become a proficient athlete in both sports and holds a fourth-degree black belt in the martial arts. He has competed internationally for U.S. teams in Tae Kwon Do, traveling to Germany, Korea and Mexico for competitions.

Teran said his athletic focus, at least for the moment, is on soccer.

“My first year in college I’m going to focus on soccer and academics and see how it goes,” he said. “Maybe my third year (in college) or so I’ll get back to it because I want to keep my Tae Kwon Do going. If I’m not involved in fighting, I’ll be teaching and showing young kids what I know.”

The senior soccer standout said upon graduation from Brownsville Veterans he will take with him a lot of good memories of playing for the Chargers.

“It was a gift to play with these guys as my teammates,” Teran said. “There was nothing like it. The friendships and everything, they’ll last forever.”

Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess

ROY HESS | Staff Writer

GEORGETOWN — Former Brownsville resident Gabriel Picazo drove from Dallas to Georgetown on Saturday to see the Porter Cowboys win their second Class 5A state championship in soccer at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Field.

Picazo came with his wife, Cynthia Cortez, and neither of them, both 2009 Lopez graduates, had any second thoughts about making the nearly three-hour trip in heavy traffic after being there to witness the Cowboys prevail 10-9 in penalty kicks to earn a 3-2 victory against Frisco Wakeland in the Class 5A state final.

“I don’t live in Brownsville anymore, but as soon as I heard that (Porter coach) Jose Espitia’s team was playing for the state championship, I told myself I had to go support him,” Picazo said. “He was my cross country coach at Lopez (approximately a decade ago). He was an amazing coach for me and he’s a great leader.

“I really admire Coach Espitia, and he’s an example to follow,” added Picazo, who moved from Brownsville to Dallas two years ago. “I couldn’t miss this. I’m happy for him and his team. At this point, and for something like this, we should forget all the (intracity school) rivalries. Today we’re one city behind Porter, and I think that’s the example of a united Brownsville that we need to put out there.”

Cortez said she was equally as happy for the Cowboys, who finished with a 28-0-1 record.

“I’m so excited because this is the Valley (winning state), and we’re really proud of the Valley,” she said. “For them to come up here to Georgetown and play for the state title, it’s really an honor to see them win it.”

Porter also won the 5A state championship in soccer in 2006 under then-coach Jose Luis Zarate, now the golf coach at Brownsville Veterans Memorial.

Zarate said there was no way he was going to miss Saturday’s game.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Zarate said. “Porter has a great team made up of great players and great coaches. They’re bringing back another championship to Brownsville, which is where it belongs, right?

“I think this is the way Porter has played all season,” he added. “They’ve always believed in what they have done, and I told my brother (Sergio), ‘You know what? They’ve always found a way to win (this season).’ This is just something very awesome.”

Saturday marked the sixth UIL state championship in soccer for the Valley. Besides Porter’s previous title in 2006, the others were Lopez in 2004, Hidalgo in 2009, Sharyland High in 2012 and Rivera in 2015.

Also in attendance Saturday at Birkelbach Field was Joe Rodriguez, former coach and athletic director for Brownsville ISD and current school board member.

Rodriguez was on hand in Georgetown to witness Rivera’s Class 6A state championship with a 28-0 record just one year ago. He said seeing Brownsville teams bring home such title trophies is something that never gets old.

Porter was leading 2-1, but Wakeland scored a goal that went off the left post and bounced in to tie the score at 2 with 1:09 left in regulation. The match then went all the way to penalty kicks after overtime and the Cowboys prevailed 10-9 after 10 rounds (20 players) of PKs.

“I can’t breathe, man — this is the most exciting game I’ve ever seen,” Rodriguez said. “Winning another state title means a lot considering where we started (with UIL soccer in 1983). These kids have proved themselves as champions.”

The Porter Nation was well-represented at Birkelbach Field on Saturday along with fans from across the Valley and even from various areas of the state. They came to support Porter.

“My nephew (Diego Rivera) plays for Porter, so we’re very pleased and proud of him,” said Valentin Martinez of Galveston, a former Brownsville and Matamoros resident. “I came from Galveston over here to support Diego and the team. Even though it took a long time to get over here and there was lots of traffic, we’re going home very happy because of Porter’s win. It’s something we’ll always remember.”

There were many other fans who came all the way to Georgetown to support Lopez and Progreso as well. This year marked the first time the Valley had three teams at the state soccer tournament. On Friday, Progreso lost 1-0 in PKs in the Class 4A final and Lopez was defeated 2-1 in the Class 6A semifinals.

After the Red Ants and Lobos fell short of their goals to become state champions, the hope for a championship trophy going back to the Valley rested with the Cowboys on Saturday, and they came through.

“It was a long way over here and we just want to thank everyone who made the trip and came to support us,” said Alexis Armendariz, a junior forward who scored both of Porter’s goals in regulation and was named the 5A boys championship game MVP. “They believed in us and we believed in them.”

By ROY HESS, Staff Writer

GEORGETOWN — The Porter Cowboys dug deep to summon their collective willpower and went the distance in capturing a second UIL state championship in soccer Saturday at Georgetown ISD’s Birkelbach Field.

It became the sixth UIL state soccer title for the Rio Grande Valley since 2004, including four of them by Brownsville teams. Rivera was the inaugural Class 6A champion one year ago with a 28-0 record, so Brownsville now boasts back-to-back state champions.

In Saturday’s match between two unbeaten teams that featured all sorts of twists and turns in momentum, the Cowboys finally prevailed 10-9 in penalty kicks to secure a 3-2 victory against Frisco Wakeland in the Class 5A state final.

“What can I say? We’re blessed,” said Porter’s Uriel Sepulveda, a senior defensive midfielder and team captain. “Having these teammates and having this faith in each other, it was like bringing all the power into one house. All along we never stopped believing that we would win.

“Yes, it was a dramatic win, and all I can say is God is good,” he added. “This is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. It will stay in my heart forever.”

Each time Porter (28-0-1) scored to go ahead at 1-0 and then 2-1, the taller and quicker Wolverines (25-1-1) kept finding a way to knot things up again.

Even with just 1:09 left in regulation, the Wolverines rallied when Harris Partain fired a rocket of a shot that hit the left post and ricocheted into the right corner of the goal to make it 2-2 and give his team new life.

After a scoring deadlock that lasted through 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime action, the match, tied at 2, went to penalties. And even then, the match appeared that it was going to never end.

“Even when we went to penalty kicks, the players were saying, ‘Don’t worry coach, we’re going to win this,’” Porter coach Jose Espitia said. “They had the faith and they did it to win state.”

Going first, each Porter player converted his attempt through 10 agonizing rounds of PKs that involved a total of 20 players, 10 for each side.

However, the agony evenutally belonged exclusively to Wakeland as its first nine players to attempt a PK found the mark before Nick Mueller, the 10th one of the Wolverines to try a penalty, saw his kick sail high and wide left.

The miss gave the win to Porter and set off an emotional victory celebration on the Cowboys’ sideline and in the visitors’ stands.

Alexis Armendariz, a junior forward, scored both of Porter’s goals during regulation. Armendariz broke away from a defender just as the Wakeland goalkeeper came out too late and the Porter forward reached the loose ball first to send a routine shot into an open net during the 17th minute for a 1-0 lead that stood through intermission.

A header by Partain off a corner kick taken by Logan Biggs from the right side during the 46th minute evened things at 1.
Again, Porter seemed to be in good shape when Armendariz tallied his second goal durinng the 72nd minute. The Wakeland goalkeeper tried to clear the ball, but in doing so, it went directly to Armendariz, who promptly fired it into the net for a 2-1 advantage for the Cowboys.

“It’s a great prize for us to win state,” said Armendariz, named MVP of the 5A boys championship game. “It’s a dream that became reality for us.”

Just when it seemed the Cowboys were almost home free to a second state title to go along with the one they won in 2006, Partain came up with his remarkable goal with 1:09 left in regulation that went off the left post and in, setting up the eventual PKs.

Wakeland lost one of its key players, senior midfielder Noa Cuellar, to a leg injury only six minutes into the match. After going to the locker room for treatment, he came back out and watched the remainder of the game from the sideline on crutches.

After it was all over, there was no denying it was Porter’s day.

“It’s all about faith,” said Porter’s Enrique Soto, a senior midfielder and team captain. “We never lost the faith.”