BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Edinburg North boys soccer needed points in their final game against Weslaco High to hold off surging Weslaco East for the fourth and final playoff spot in District 31-6A.
The Cougars started strong and took the game over early, storming to a three-goal lead and cruising by Weslaco High, 5-0.
“During Spring Break, we practice and we knew that if we wanted to make the playoffs we had to win today,” North senior Ernesto Nevarez said. “We knew since the whistle blew we had to be on top of them and score as many goals as we can to secure that win. We all wanted it, we all wanted to make the playoffs so it was nothing but to go 100 percent as soon as the whistle blew.”
Edinburg North entered the match with 12 points, while Weslaco East was sitting at 14 following a point earned in Tuesday’s 1-0 PK loss to Edinburg Vela.
North’s first goal came on a penalty kick scored by Roberto Ruiz just three minutes in. Axel Loera and Nevarez also had early goals.
Andres Herrera also scored and Loera added a second.
Nevarez is a rare upperclassman on a team that plays plenty of younger players each match.
“I want to recognize all the effort and the hunger that my team showed in the first half, the beginning of this game,” Edinburg North coach Elias Moran said. “It was a great display and great performance by them.”
Moran says his team, made up for mostly underclassmen, learned a lot in a challenging district that added high-end talent Donna North, who won the district.”
“This is a young group and we knew since the beginning we were going to experiment (with) different players to kind of rebuild and to find the best team to compete. We knew that Donna North, Edinburg High, Economedes were going to be strong teams. We struggled, we experienced some adversity, but we really competed against them.”
Up next for Edinburg North will be a bi-district clash of giants. The Cougars will face the Brownsville Rivera Raiders, a team they know well from recent postseasons.
“For us, it’s going to be a really good experience,” Moran said. “We created that rivalry against them. It’s going to be a great game, I can’t wait. Coach (Salvador) Garcia is a great friend of mine. We’re expecting for my team to compete against them and you never know, maybe surprise the world.”