By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Pace Lady Vikings are reaping the rewards of another successful soccer season.
Capturing back-to-back District 32-5A championships was a first for the program in 2019.
As a result, some of the top awards on The Brownsville Herald’s All-Metro Team for girls soccer are going to the Lady Vikings.
Jesus O. Villarreal is the coach of the year, Alexis Guajardo is the offensive player of the year and Marcela “Marcy” Garza is the MVP.
The Pace girls went 23-9-3 this season and won 32-5A with an 11-3 record after taking the district title with a 14-0 mark in 2018. The Lady Vikings advanced two rounds in the playoffs this year before bowing out of the postseason with a 3-2 overtime loss to Corpus Christi Flour Bluff.
Guajardo, a senior forward-midfielder, proved to be a worthy choice as offensive player of the year. She scored 37 goals on the season and ended with 101 for her four-year Pace career. She’s continuing her soccer career next school year at Southwestern University in Georgetown.
“It’s been an extremely special opportunity to be part of this team,” Guajardo said. “Every year we’ve grown more together. We’ve built a culture of unity by always trying to support each other, and it’s made our team stronger on and off the field. Our camaraderie is really important.
“I tried to bring hustle and a strong work ethic (to the team),” she added. “Those were the main things I tried to stress to the girls. I wanted us to go out on the field and give it our all. With the risk of injury, it’s never promised that you’ll have another game.”
Guajardo also earned the offensive player of the year award in 32-5A.
“It’s really exciting because every year I’ve always wanted to go out and score as many goals as possible,” she said. “Scoring and running back to your teammates to celebrate is always fun. (Doing that) you know you’ve contributed to the team in a positive way.”
Guajardo said having Villarreal as coach has meant a lot to the team.
“He always listens to us and makes sure he hears our point of view,” Guajardo said. “We respect him for that. (It’s) just the fact that he knows where we’re coming from as players and he takes that into account when he’s coaching us. That’s really important to us as players.”
Villarreal was a strong candidate for the All-Metro coaching award last season. Now he’s truly appreciating the award and credits his players for the level of success the Pace girls are now experiencing. He was also the coach of the year in 32-5A this season.
“For me, first of all, one of the most important parts (of our success) has been just doing my part by working hard,” the Lady Vikings coach said. “I try to analyze and distinguish what we should do because I’m a very analytical person. I’ve tried to bring the best out of the players. That’s what is important to me.
“If I haven’t received the award before, it’s because there are good coaches out there that have done the job as well,” he added. “If this is my year, that’s great. It’s one more recognition for Pace as a whole, and for my own personal record, too.
“Being named coach of the year in 32-5A brings me a lot of satisfaction overall because it’s a tough district and it hasn’t been easy. There are a lot of great coaches and players out there right now.”