By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial’s reward for putting together three strong wins in a row in District 32-6A boys soccer is a showdown with district leader Lopez next Tuesday.
The Chargers (4-2, 13 points) remained in a tie for second place with Hanna in the 32-6A standings thanks to Friday’s 3-1 victory at home against the Los Fresnos Falcons (3-3, nine points).
Lopez (6-0, 18 points) stayed unbeaten to lead the 32-6A race with a 2-0 triumph Friday at Harlingen High. Also Friday, Hanna (5-1, 13 points) prevailed over Rivera 2-1 in overtime.
Brownsville Veterans now plays Lopez at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
The Chargers were coming off decisive wins against San Benito (5-0) and Harlingen High (4-0) before leading Los Fresnos 2-0 at halftime and eventually winning 3-1.
“I think we’ve done a good job of coming out these last three games and playing very well in the beginning,” Chargers coach Alberto Vasquez said. “We have to work on not losing the tempo and rhythm of the game (after we get a good lead) and on controlling things more in the second half, but we’re scoring goals, which is something we were struggling with a little bit in the beginning of the season. Our guys are coming together, and we’re playing well.
“It is a playoff atmosphere every time we play against a team in this district because everybody comes out here and leaves everything on the field,” he added. “We were expecting a tough game against Los Fresnos, and that’s exactly what they gave us.”
Against the Falcons, goals by Ramon Perez and Jesus Muniz during the 17th and 33rd minutes, respectively, provided the Chargers with a 2-0 advantage at intermission.
It was a physical game from beginning to end. The Falcons lost a player to a red card with 31 minutes remaining and played the rest of the way with only 10 men.
Still, despite being short a player, Los Fresnos came up with a goal by Eric Arellano barely one minute after the red card to pull the Falcons to within 2-1 with 30 minutes left.
“Yes, it was a playoff atmosphere,” Los Fresnos coach Javier Navarrete said. “My guys fought hard. They even fought harder when we only had 10 men. I’m proud of my boys. They stepped it up, put a lot of intensity into it and got it to 2-1 in the second half.
“I felt there were some questionable calls that hurt us,” he added.
With 17 minutes left, Muniz added his second goal, which came from fairly close range to seal the victory with a 3-1 score.
Now the focus for the Chargers is Lopez.
“I really haven’t had a chance to look at them, but I know Lopez is an athletic team,” Vasquez said. “I’m hoping we can go out there and do what we try to do well. Defensively, we’ve only given up three goals (in district) so far. I hope we can continue to do a good job defensively.
“It should be a good game, but it is just another game in the district,” Vasquez added. “We’re going to go out there, do things correctly, try to win it and leave everything on the field. Hopefully things go our way.”