By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The 2020 season marked a breakthrough year for Brownsville Porter’s girls soccer program.
The Cowgirls began playing UIL girls soccer in 1997, and it wasn’t until 2016 they qualified for the playoffs for the first time.
This season they captured their first district championship in girls soccer. The Cowgirls won the District 32-5A title with a 12-2 record and 34 points. They boast a 26-5-6 overall mark.
Guiding the team is Abraham Gracia, who has been the Cowgirls’ coach for 12 seasons.
He is The Brownsville Herald’s clear choice as the All-Metro Girls Soccer Coach of the Year for 2020.
“It means a lot,” Gracia said of capturing the district title and being named coach of the year. “Winning district (always) has been one of our goals, but I’m not going to lie. There have been times I felt like giving up. Luckily, I decided to stick to it, and thank God, it finally happened.
“This season has been awesome,” he added. “We’ve got a good group of girls. Their dedication has made them one of the best groups I’ve had. There’s a lot of talent on this team. The talent of these players kind of explains why we’ve done so well. I haven’t had this much overall talent before.
“Like I said before, their dedication, their hard work, their perseverance and their attitude makes this team a pretty special one.”
The players appreciate the guidance Gracia is providing to the Cowgirls.
“Coach Gracia helps us out with a lot of things,” said Denisse Romero, Porter’s standout sophomore attacking midfielder. “He helped us win the games and has taught a lot. He’s a dedicated coach who tells us what to do on the field.”
Gracia’s assistant coaches are Gabriel Sanchez, Joe Valdez and Mike Hernandez.
The Porter coach, who served as an assistant for the boys soccer team at Rivera under Salvador Garcia for two years prior to coming to Porter, said this has been a season to savor.
Unfortunately, he said, it’s doubtful the season will continue into the playoffs because of the threat posed by COVID-19. Day by day, it appears more unlikely schools will reopen anytime soon so the students can complete the 2019-2020 school year on their campuses.
He said athletics, justifiably, has become secondary.
“The girls are very disappointed,” Gracia said. “They are constantly calling me and texting me (for updates). They want to have a chance to see what we could do in the playoffs.
“I’m really proud of our girls,” Gracia added. “Being the coach of the year and our success is because of them.”