ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The success of the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers this season is evidenced by The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro selections for boys soccer.
The Chargers advanced five rounds in the Class 5A playoffs for the third straight year and finished with a 23-3-1 record as the runner-up team from District 32-5A.
As a result, Brownsville Veterans boasts some of the top All-Metro honorees for 2019, including Alberto Vasquez (coach of the year), Moises Navarro (goalkeeper of the year) and Diego Bernal (utility player of the year).
Vasquez just completed his ninth season guiding the Chargers. No team from Brownsville has his track record of success during the past three years. Brownsville Veterans has come within one victory of reaching the UIL state tournament three straight times.
“Getting coach of the year is a great recognition, but it’s not just something that I’ve accomplished (by myself),” Vasquez said. “We have great assistants, including Dante Ayala, my first assistant. The assistants help out so much in every aspect of what we try to put together. My junior varsity coaches always contribute and help develop the players.
“This (coach of the year) award is something I’m receiving, but it’s because of the team,” Vasquez added. “It is very important for all of our players to understand that any individual accolade — and we received a ton this year — is not necessary for what an individual accomplished, but rather what the team has done.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized as an All-Metro Coach of the Year because there are a lot of great coaches out there. Just to be considered for such an honor is amazing.”
One thing is certain. The players believe in their coach and his ability to guide the team.
“Coach Vasquez helps us and trains us to be ready for a lot of things, so it’s an honor to play for the Chargers,” said Navarro, a four-year member of the varsity. “I want to thank Coach Vasquez for especially helping me these last two years that I was the starter. He gave me a lot of trust, and I think I did my best job. It’s an honor being his player. I don’t really see him as my coach, but more like my friend. In difficult times he’s been there, and in beautiful times he’s been there.”
Added Bernal, a three-year varsity member, “It’s no coincidence that we’ve made it to the regional final three times in a row with our coach. It’s taken hard work and dedication. It’s been the whole team (working together) with Coach Vasquez always there to help us out when we need it.”
Bernal, who has signed to play at Texas College next school year, rotated between playing at center midfielder, defensive midfielder and midfielder on the wing this season. Many times he was the first player off the bench for the Chargers.
“First of all, if you’re on the bench you have to be analyzing the game so you can do what they want you to do when you’re called to go in,” Bernal said. “You do whatever the team needs.
“It’s like a whole different family playing for the Chargers,” he added. “When you’re on the field, you’re representing the whole school more than just the team, and when you’re in the playoffs you’re representing Brownsville.”
Vasquez said Bernal’s contribution was vital.
“Diego is a player who wasn’t a full-time starter, but he was a starter some of the time,” the coach said. “Whenever he was playing, he was someone we really counted on to give us a boost, especially when he came off the bench. He was someone who had the flexibility of playing three positions.
“Even though the positions were kind of similar, Diego was someone who could step in and create something out of nothing,” Vasquez added. “He has great vision and amazing passing ability, so he was that one who could come in and really help us when our midfield was struggling or we were struggling to create something.”
Navarro was also an important asset for the Chargers, Vasquez said.
“Moises gave us tons of confidence in the back,” the coach said. “I think in our district we’ve consistently had the best defense year after year after year. We’ve allowed the least amount of goals with a lot of shutouts. It’s not that we defend with just one particular player. It’s the whole team playing together, and Moises was a big part of that. That’s something we work on and try to implement in our system. It’s proven effective.”
Navarro knows the goalkeeper is always the one on the spot.
“It takes a lot of focus (to play goalkeeper),” Navarro said. “You can stop, like, 1,000 balls, and if you miss one of them, people will remember you for only that mistake. They won’t remember your saves, so it takes a lot of focus and training.
“It’s an honor to win an award (for being a standout goalkeeper),” he added. “I consider it a prize for working hard.”
As a parting comment, Bernal said, “I’d like to thank all our fans and everyone who has come out to support us, even when we went to Corpus Christi. These past three years have been great. Also, thank you to Coach Vasquez for putting up with us.”