By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The District 32-6A boys soccer sweep is complete.
Thanks to Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s eventful 3-2 win Friday against Edinburg North at Sams Memorial Stadium, 32-6A boys teams won all four of their Class 6A bi-district matchups against District 31-6A.
The game between the 32-6A runner-up Chargers and 31-6A third-place Cougars was eventful because it had a little bit of everything.
Not only were there goals and near-goals, the match included a combined four penalty kicks, two red cards and an approximate 20-minute delay after a fight between the two squads erupted 10 minutes into the second half.
The ruckus started on the field and carried over to the track along the Edinburg North sideline. It led to a player from each side being red-carded.
After order was restored and play resumed, the Chargers emerged victorious and advanced to next week’s area round of the playoffs to face District 29-6A champion Laredo United South, a 2-1 winner against La Joya Palmview on Thursday.
“The game could have gone a little smoother, but it didn’t, and it was a tough one to win,” Chargers coach Alberto Vasquez said. “Edinburg North was trying hard to get the victory, and they took it to us. But I think we were just a little more effective offensively and defensively than they were.”
Also Friday, the Brownsville Veterans team played the match while dealing with the emotional burden of having just lost teammate Esteban Garcia, a junior varsity player who died earlier in the week.
“Under the circumstances, I thought our boys did a great job,” Vasquez said. “They came together and wanted to make Esteban proud. It wasn’t easy. The circumstances made it tough. I’m proud of our guys for how they performed.”
Brownsville Veterans had beaten Edinburg North 3-0 last season in bi-district when the Chargers were the fourth-place team from 32-6A and the Cougars were 31-6A champions.
On Friday, the Chargers were looking good when Humberto Aguillon nudged the ball into the net from close range during the 23rd minute for a 1-0 lead. Then the Cougars’ Azael de Leon converted a penalty kick barely a minute later to even the score.
The match was deadlocked 1-1 at halftime.
Brownsville Veterans went ahead 2-1 just three minutes into the second half when Gabriel Montoya made good on a penalty kick after a knockdown call in the area against the Cougars.
After that, the Cougars surprised the Chargers by quickly attacking downfield and sent a shot off the crossbar just 20 seconds after Montoya’s PK.
At became 3-1 for Brownsville Veterans with seven minutes gone in the second half when Beto Trevino’s free kick from the left side was sent into the net by teammate Ramon Perez, who was situated near the right post.
The confrontation that involved a majority of the players on the field soon erupted after it appeared the Cougars were going to be called for another penalty violation. With 30:11 on the scoreboard clock, the match was halted for approximately 20 minutes before a player from each team was sent off.
The Chargers were indeed awarded a PK, but the Cougars goalkeeper blocked it, leaving the score at 3-1.
A handball call against the Chargers resulted in the Cougars getting another PK opportunity. Carlos Rodriguez Jr. converted it to pull Edinburg North to within 3-2 with 21 minutes remaining, but that was as close as the visitors came to tying the score.
The other 32-6A boys teams winning bi-district matches, all on Thursday, were Hanna over Weslaco East 2-1 in penalty kicks, Rivera 4-2 over PSJA Memorial and Lopez 6-1 against Edinburg Economedes.