By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Standing in the shadow of the boys soccer teams’ four state titles and numerous regional championships, Brownsville’s girls often get overlooked.
But ask anyone involved with girls soccer in the city, and they’ll let you know it’s only a matter of time before they find their own glory.
Alex Macias, the Lopez Lady Lobos’ girls soccer coach, says all of the ingredients are there to send one of BISD teams to uncharted territories: the UIL girls state soccer tournament.
In the 20 seasons since girls soccer became a high school sport in the Rio Grande Valley, no Brownsville girls team has sniffed a state title.
“Brownsville girls soccer is closing the gap between the talent of the northern teams and Brownsville schools,” Macias said. “Several factors that contribute to this are the summer leagues are creating more competitive clubs facing these teams. Experienced BISD coaches and the clinics they attend. The number of BISD girls collecting scholarships. We can also include the obvious, parent support and the media.”
Girls soccer has made some headway when it comes to getting closer to state.
Valley teams have been close to the state tournament, with Los Fresnos making the Region IV-6A title match in 2015, which is still the closest a Valley team has come to the state tournament.
In Brownsville, Lopez enjoyed the best run of any BISD school since the sport’s first girls season in 1997. The Lady Lobos reached the Region IV-5A semifinals in 2014, where they lost to eventual regional champion San Antonio Reagan, 3-0.
BISD schools had one of their best overall showings in 2016 by getting fourgirls teams (Pace, Porter, Lopez and Brownsville Veterans Memorial) to the playoffs.
It can be argued that the talent is certainly here, especially when you consider the rate at which college programs snatched up Brownsville players. Ten players from five BISD schools signed to play college soccer in 2016, joining the already large amount of ladies playing across the nation.
Paloma Bermudez, who played midfield and defense for Pace in 2010-2011 before transferring to Los Fresnos for her final two seasons, thinks one of the major changes in Brownsville girls soccer is the amount of girls playing collegiate soccer.
“More girls are getting recruited to play soccer, in my opinion,” she said. “At Texas College, I have about six teammates that are from the RGV and about four of us are from Brownsville. That talent is going places.”
Girls soccer has grown at the youth level as well, which is helping players learn skills earlier.
Macias says that’s one of the biggest differences in Brownsville’s girls soccer scene.
“I believe the small amount of girls leagues in the past have limited the growth of talent, but now it almost made a complete 360 here in Brownsville,” he said. “We now have adult girls leagues with a lot of our girl’s moms playing, so our kids are being taken to not only watch dad play, but now add going to watch mom play. So our kids are being more exposed to the sport, creating more talent to choose from.”
These youth leagues are helping Brownsville close the gap and turn players like Carla Gracia, a Lopez forward entering her senior season, into seasoned players when they reach high school.
“You get to know the competition. You get to learn a lot about soccer,” Gracia said. “You learn the plays. You see other people play and you see something you like, and you learn from it. Basically, I’ve played for 13 years, so you learn a lot. Over the years, you gain strength. The way you think in the field is a faster way of thinking. You learn a lot of stuff.”
The cycle of early development and the eventual move to the next level of soccer only means it’s a matter of time before the girls break through.
Pretty soon, the Lopez, Porter and Rivera boys may need to make room next to their state trophies.
“It is very close, because the talent has been growing throughout the years,” said Lopez midfielder Samantha Ruiz, who’s heading to Texas A&M International University-Laredo to play soccer. “I think it’s possible to get there. The girls do have potential here. Anything can happen if they continue doing what they do and the commitment they put to the sport. It can happen.”
Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.