By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Soccer is an important part of the immediate future for four graduating female athletes from Pace.
Thanks to Friday’s scholarship agreement signings at the school auditorium in front of family, classmates and Brownsville ISD staff members, the four girls will be playing their chosen sport at the next level while pursuing college degrees.
They are attacking midfielder Jo Ann Sanchez, defensive midfielder Hania Davila and defenders Daniela Perez and Amanda Morales.
Sanchez is going to Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, while Morales is headed to Lindenwood University in Belleville, Illinois, and Davila and Perez have signed to play for Texas College in Tyler.
With the help of those four girls, the Lady Vikings qualified for the Class 5A state playoffs during each of the past two seasons.
In addition to the four soccer girls, six Pace boys also signed to play soccer in college Friday along with another female athlete who will compete in track in college, making the signing ceremony an event to honor 11 graduating Pace athletes.
“I’m very happy because this is like a new chapter to my life,” said Perez, a three-year starter who plans to study biology. “I’m a little nervous, though, because I’m not going to be with my family. That’s something I have to work through.”
Despite not having her family around, Perez will have a teammate with her in Tyler.
“This is something really great,” said Davila, a four-year starter who plans to study nursing. “I’m honored to have received an offer to play in college. Not everyone gets the opportunity to do it and I’m very fortunate to receive it, so I’m excited to play (at the next level). I would just say thanks to everyone who has supported us.”
Morales said she wouldn’t know what to do if she wasn’t playing soccer.
“I’ve played since I was younger, so it’s just amazing (to continue my soccer career in college),” said Morales, a four-year starter who wants to major in exercise science. “It would feel strange not to be playing soccer. If I wouldn’t have gotten signed, I would still continue to play in outside leagues because I just can’t stop playing soccer. It was an honor to come here to Pace and experience the things I’ve experienced, which will help me for my next step in life.”
Lady Vikings coach Jesus O. Villarreal was proud of his players at Friday’s signing ceremony.
“First of all, getting an education is far more important than any championship,” he said. “To be educated in college while playing soccer is a big plus. I know these girls and they are committed. They have sacrificed so many things. I am honored, I am proud and I am more than sure that they’re going to be successful.”
One of the most appreciative Pace athletes signing Friday was Sanchez, whose senior season was cut short by injury just after a few games back in January. Now she’s getting a chance to resume her soccer career and become one of the first ones in her family to go to college on a scholarship.
“This motivates me to recover faster and recover better because I missed my senior season of soccer and I feel I let down my team in a lot of ways as one of the team leaders,” said Sanchez, a three-year starter who plans to study mathematics and eventually pursue an engineering degree. “My family is full of soccer players, but I’m really the only one who has gotten the opportunity to play in college. I’m the first one who is going without having to take out a loan, so to me, playing soccer in college means representing my family. It’s a tribute to my dad and my uncles for how much they’ve worked to try to get me to this point. I hope it’s an influence to all my younger cousins to go to college. It’s something that can be done. It’s not something out of this world (and unattainable).”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess