By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Thanks to the combined efforts of soccer players from high schools in Brownsville and Harlingen, the 17-and-under Brownsville Galaxy club team is advancing to next week’s U.S. Youth Soccer National President’s Cup in Indiana.
The Galaxy is composed of players mostly from Brownsville and two others from Harlingen. A number of the team members are from Brownsville Veterans Memorial with others are from Hanna, Pace, Harlingen High and Harlingen South.
The Galaxy plays under the auspices of the Brownsville Opportunity Youth Soccer Association.
One of the team’s players is Jose Luis Capistran, who will be a junior at Brownsville Veterans when the new school year starts in August. He is a defender on the left side for the Galaxy and also plays defense for the Chargers, who advanced to the Region IV-5A final for the second straight season last April.
He said the Galaxy team members have played along side one another for quite some time and that factor has contributed to their success. He said participating in the National President’s Cup will help each of them when their high school seasons begin in 2019.
“It’s really great (to be a part of this team),” Capistran said. “We understand each other very well and we know where we’ll be (on the field during a game). We try to support each other all the time in our games.
“It’s great that we’re getting the experience we need over there (in Indiana) against some really strong teams and some really good players,” he added. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Besides Capistran, other players for the Galaxy are Israel Barron, Mark Boswell, Cesar Cepeda, Felipe Esquivel, Reynaldo Gonzalez, Juan Daniel Lucio, Albert Maradiaga, Johnathan Mendoza, Raul Mendoza, Jose Muniz, Joaquin Ovalle Jr., Roberto Palomo, Maximiliano Rivas, Juan Rodriguez, Gerardo Valle, Jorge Vega, Isaac Acevedo and Moises Navarro.
Acevedo, a goalkeeper, is unable to make the trip to the national tournament, so Navarro, a goalkeeper who played for Brownsville Veterans, was added to the roster.
Leticia Capistran, the Galaxy team manager, said her son Jose Luis Capistran, Maradiaga and Boswell have played on the team since they were 3 years old. About six or seven of the other players have played together on the team since they were 5 or 6, she said.
This is the first time for the Galaxy to make it to the national level in the President’s Cup after reaching the regional semifinals a year ago.
“To me, it’s something that leaves me speechless to see how well these boys have done,” Leticia Capistran said. “There’s never a problem with any of them. They’re very disciplined and very well-behaved. They all like the sport.
“The parents have been very supportive,” she added. “A big reason for the success of the team is the parents’ support.”
The Galaxy began its quest for nationals in President’s Cup competition in April. In the district/group stage, the team went 3-0 and moved on to Texas regional competition and again went 3-0. From there, the Galaxy advanced to the state tournament in May in Round Rock and had a 3-0 showing against an El Paso team and two squads from Houston to make it to a southern regional tournament in Greenville, South Carolina, in mid-June.
In South Carolina, the Galaxy defeated a pair of South Carolina teams 4-0 and 1-0, and beat a team from Florida 4-1 in group play before winning against a North Texas team 1-0 in overtime in a regional semifinal match. A 4-1 triumph against a team from Tennessee in the southern regional final enabled the Galaxy to earn its trip to the National President’s Cup.
The team leaves for Indiana on July 10 and will play its first game July 12. The other teams in the Galaxy’s division in Indiana are from New Jersey, Utah and Chicago.
The Galaxy coach is Andres Macias, who has been an assistant soccer coach at Rivera since 2008. His Galaxy assistant is Guillermo Munoz.
Macias said he has seen the Galaxy players improve their skills year after year.
“It’s really great to see them develop in the mental aspect of the game, not just the physical aspect,” Macias said. “They’re doing things together and playing as a team.”
The team is seeking financial assistance for its trip to Indiana. For more information, go to www.gofundme.com/GalaxyNational
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess