By STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS – Porter escaped with a 1-0 win over Los Fresnos Tuesday night at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium thanks to the strong play of its midfield in the game’s early stages and a little bit of luck toward the end.
Porter coach Jose Espitia said he is pleased with his team’s chemistry and felt Los Fresnos gave his squad a good test.
“(Los Fresnos) came out with a lot of intensity,” Espitia said. “We like to play our nondistrict games away from home, because you have the extra pressure of playing in someone else’s house. To put the kids in that kind of situation is a good thing because that’s what we go through in district and during the playoffs.”
Porter notched the game’s only goal at the 32-minute mark of the first half when sophomore striker Xavier Mateos launched a ball into the top left corner off of a long rebound off a shot by sophomore midfielder Brandon Montes following a rush by junior midfielder Erick Esparza.
“I was following the play in case there was a rebound,” Mateos said. “I got the rebound and I just found the space to take the shot over the defense.”
Los Fresnos was denied on two point-blank chances that occurred in the game’s opening minutes – the first of which was deflected out of harm’s way by the Porter back line – and another on a shot that floated above the crossbar with less than 17 minutes to go in the first half.
The Cowboys led 1-0 at the end of the first half.
The Falcons continued to make a push for an equalizer in the second half and were active around the net, but failed to break through.
A Porter foul resulted in a free kick awarded to Andderson Rocha just outside the box that was deflected by a Porter defender, one of several close chances that took place at or around the 25-minute mark.
Marco Moreno drew a foul and Los Fresnos penalty kick at the 5-minute mark for the Falcons’ best scoring opportunity of the night.
Job Esquivel took the penalty for Los Fresnos and drilled it high above the goal and off of the scoreboard.
“You wanna put away those chances,” Los Fresnos coach Michael Miller said. “You have to at least make the goalie make a save and we didn’t do that. But the kids battled, they played really hard, and Porter is an awesome team. … It’s the type of game you’re going to see in the playoffs.”
Esquivel and Humberto Trinidad handled the ball for the majority of the Falcons’ possessions and helped to facilitate the Los Fresnos attack, but goalkeeper Isaac Acevedo and the Cowboys kept the home side off the scoresheet.
In an equally impressive display while turning in a clean sheet in the second half, Los Fresnos sophomore goalie Jasiel Jimenez, who had split playing time with starter Alexis Gonzalez, made a leaping save to deny a line drive off the boot of Porter’s Rodolfo Armendariz.
“I wanted to play both goalies today against real good competition,” Miller said. “To hold (Porter) to one goal is an accomplishment. Now we just have to score a couple of goals ourselves.”
Both Porter and Los Fresnos are scheduled to participate in the Brownsville Showcase tournament that runs from Thursday to Saturday.