By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
At this point of the soccer season, the District 32-6A races for boys and girls may be described in a number of ways, none of which is boring.
With the end of the first half of district play in sight, the results have been unpredictable, close and many times surprising.
A 1-0 (3-2) penalty-kick “Bird Bowl” win Tuesday at home by the Harlingen High Lady Cardinals over Harlingen South plus Brownsville Rivera’s 1-0 overtime victory over San Benito created a three-way tie for first place in the 32-6A girls standings. The Lady Cards, Lady Hawks and Lady Raiders share first with nine points each and 3-1 district records.
“We face Rivera next (on Friday in Brownsville), and we want to go in playing tough and get the win,” Lady Cards coach Debra Galvan said. “The win against South gave us more confidence, especially for my goalie (Erianah Zapata).
“Our defense is stepping up big by stopping the other team’s offense,” Galvan added. “Now we are working at finishing up front on our chances.
“We are in a tough district, and we know how important every game is. We have to compete hard for every win, and that is our goal.”
Rounding out the six-team 32-6A girls standings, it’s Brownsville Hanna (2-2, six points), Los Fresnos (1-3, three points) and San Benito (0-4, no points).
The 32-6A boys race is just as tight.
A 4-2 win Tuesday by Hanna over Los Fresnos left the Golden Eagles and Falcons tied for first place with 3-1 records and nine points apiece.
“It was a great victory because our team defeated a very well-coached opponent,” Eagles coach Reyes Prado said. “But it was only three points (for the win) nonetheless.
“Our team is very focused on what it wants to accomplish at the end of the season (by going far in the playoffs),” Prado added. “We want to stay focused and carry on the Hanna winning tradition.”
Rounding out the rest of the 32-6A boys standings, it’s San Benito and Rivera tied for third with 2-2 records and six points apiece, and Harlingen High and Harlingen South next with 1-3 records and three points each.
32-5A UPDATE
Tuesday was an night of surprises in District 32-5A girls soccer.
District leader Brownsvile Porter (5-1, 15 points) lost 1-0 at Edcouch-Elsa. Also, Valley View defeated Brownsville Pace 1-0.
Porter retained its 32-5A lead, and after the Cowgirls it’s Pace (4-2, 13 points), Brownsville Veterans Memorial (5-1, 12 points), E-E (4-2, 12 points), Brownsville Lopez (3-3, nine points), Valley View (2-4, seven points), Donna High (1-5, four points) and Mercedes (0-6, no points).
The Pace girls play host to Porter at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a matchup of the district’s 1-2 teams.
Valley View (6-0, 18 points) continues to lead the 32-5A boys race. One game behind the Tigers is Brownsville Veterans (5-1, 15 points), followed by Lopez (4-2, 11 points), Porter (3-3, 10 points), Donna High (3-3, eight points), Pace (2-4, six points), Mercedes (1-5, three points) and E-E (0-6, no points).
TAPPS PLAYOFFS
The Brownsville St. Joseph Bloodhounds go after a third win in the TAPPS playoffs at noon today against Lutheran South Academy of Houston. The match will be played at San Antonio Christian School.
SJA opened the TAPPS playoffs last week with a 3-2 victory against Cypress Christian. The Bloodhounds then beat San Antonio Christian 1-0.
A TAPPS quarterfinal victory today against Lutheran South would advance the Bloodhounds to next week’s state semifinals against British International School of Houston or TMI Episcopal of San Antonio.
The TAPPS state final is Feb. 22 in Waco. The Bloodhounds have reached the state semifinals twice previously.
‘CHELIN’ CALLED UP
Isidro “Chelin” Martinez, a key member of Rivera’s 2015 Class 6A state championship team, has received a boost in his professional soccer career.
Chelin,” a midfielder-forward who played four years at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, has been called up by the Houston Dynamo to be part of the roster for the Visit Tucson Sun Cup that is scheduled for this weekend.