By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The rivalry between the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers and the Brownsville Pace Vikings heated up a cold Friday night.
Brownsville Veterans earned a 4-0 victory in the district contest to secure at least a share of the 32-5A championship with one game remaining in the regular season.
“Pace is a very good team, so our boys showing up today and being able to beat them 4-0 at their house just shows the determination they have,” Chargers coach Alberto Vasquez said. “It was a very important game for us. The kids are used to it, they showed up and were ready. Pace put some pressure on us in the first part of the first half, but the kids were able to absorb it. They had their opportunities as well, we just had better luck putting the ball in the net.”
Two Vikings were issued yellow cards and the sideline was warned by officials for arguing about calls during the first half. Pace played an aggressive and physical first 40, drawing several whistles from officials that culminated in frustration getting the best of the Vikings.
“Playing against a Brownsville team, it always gets like a Clasico game. Rivalry. Every game we play against a Brownsville team is a tough one,” Pace coach Mario Zamora said. “I think our kids gave their all to the end. I need to congratulate Veterans, hopefully they get the district championship.”
Brownsville Veterans took advantage to control possession and open a lead. Humberto Sosa scored the only goal of the first half 30 minutes into the frame. Sosa was a force offensively for the Chargers throughout the contest, showing off his ball control to create scoring opportunities.
The Chargers had many chances in the first, but Pace goalkeeper Juan Lucio, Christopher Zapata, Emilio Cahuiche and Jose Gallegos played well defensively to keep the scoring minimal early.
The Vikings settled down and kept their emotions in check during the second. Juan Rodriguez, Gael Martin and Yahir Mina used their speed to get downfield and came close to capitalizing on some corner kicks. But Pace’s kicks and headers sailed over the goal or were controlled by Chargers goalkeeper Brian Lara.
Brownsville Veterans’ Jose Muniz scored two goals during a four-minute span early in the second half to open the lead to 3-0. He sent a rocket into the net for his first goal, then came out of the fray with control to score his second.
The Chargers subbed in players with the comfortable lead, and Vasquez was happy to see them execute, too. Marco Lerma scored in the 38th minute to wrap up a well-played game by the entire Brownsville Veterans team.
“We were able to take advantage of opportunities in the second half,” Vasquez said. “We understood what they were going to give us, and we just had to make sure that we did things the right way. The (late substitutions) did a great job. They went in there and did exactly what they were supposed to do, combination play. We finished a lot better today than we were before. We had a little more determination and our focus was there when it was time to finish, and we finished our plays with goals.”
Martin and Rodriguez continued to battle despite the deficit, but Zamora didn’t feel everyone on the field matched their energy. It didn’t help matters that two Vikings players went down with injuries during the second half. Zamora said the loss essentially eliminates Pace from playoff contention with one game left to play.
“We had to get one point to get into the playoffs and we didn’t, so if nothing happens then we’re out. We’re looking forward to continue practicing and start building up for next year,” Zamora said.