By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — The Brownsville Rivera Raiders will face the Donna North Chiefs on Friday with the District 32-6A title on the line.
“I feel ready,” said Charlie Longoria, the team’s leading goal scorer with 10 goals. “In the first round we lost to them, we should have played better, but now we have our second chance and I think we can bring it to them.”
Rivera lost 3-2 to the Chiefs in their first outing.
A single point separates Rivera (31), Brownsville Hanna (31) and Donna North (30) at the top of the district standings.
“We know what we did wrong against them,” Raiders senior right midfielder Ryan Macias said. “We have been preparing to play them for a long time. It has been our main focus for the last week.”
It has been a great second round of district play for the Raiders, who are on a six-game winning streak.
“We have improved with every practice and game,” Rivera coach Salvador Garcia said. “I think we are getting to the end of the season playing well, and hopefully we can continue playing well into the playoffs.”
The Raiders have scored 29 goals during the run and have only conceded three goals.
“The defense has been solid,” Rivera senior defender Juan Ruiz said. “In the first round we conceded, but we are working harder. The second round we have improved our game a lot.”
Garcia said the Raiders are finally playing the style he wants, especially in the second round. Rivera likes to hold possession and pass quickly to try and break down defenses.
“We are playing differently than the first round,” Garcia said. “It has been a slow process, but I think they finally understand what it takes to play Rivera soccer. It is nice to see them improve how they have played in the second round.”
On Friday, the Raiders will head to Donna North healthy as well.
“We have all the players back, we have a good bench and more than anything else we are playing with confidence,” Garcia said. “This is a completely different team than the last time we played Donna North.”