GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — When the La Joya Juarez-Lincoln boys soccer team opened the season at the Mission Tournament in early January, the Huskies had already set their sights on state. Returning seven starters from a team that pushed 2015 state champion Brownsville Rivera to penalty kicks in the regional quarterfinals, Juarez-Lincoln felt ready to advance to the state tournament for the first time in its eight-year history.
Playing on the same Tom Landry Stadium field almost 10 weeks later, the Huskies continued to solidify their playoff position. Juarez-Lincoln’s road through a grueling District 30-6A may not have been as easy as anticipated, but a 4-0 win on Tuesday against Mission High ensures the Huskies will have a chance to make the state run they have been envisioning.
“We have a good team to go to state,” midfielder Manuel Castrejon said. “If we work hard and be consistent with what we’re doing, we’ll be fine in the playoffs.”
Even as Juarez-Lincoln went 2-4 with a pair of losses in penalty kicks during the first round of district play, coach Victor Ramos wasn’t worried.
He saw that opponents had adjusted to play back against Juarez-Lincoln’s high-octane offense after watching video of the Huskies winning the Laredo Tournament and earning the runner-up spot in Mission. Fortunately, he had a plan to counter.
“It was kind of difficult. The space was not there to open up the games,” Ramos said. “They obviously studied the way we played, a very offensive team, and just played back. The second round, we tried to do the same thing: slow down the pace of the game. It’s been working.”
The change forced the free-flowing Huskies to work on finer points of the game, including set pieces. Juarez-Lincoln also switched up its style of play, mixing in a 3-4-3 formation after starting with a 4-4-2.
Castrejon said the team recaptured its consistency by learning the dangers of being overconfident. Ramos said he expected the team to improve in Round 2 after seeing the group follow a similar pattern last year. As the season has gone on, the Huskies have grown smarter and more patient.
“They’re more confident,” Ramos said. “Sometimes, when things like this happen, the team matures in a better way. I think these kids are doing things better. They’re more dedicated. When you learn to play different systems, of course it’s going to help you out.”
On Tuesday, the Huskies netted their first goal of the game less than 3 minutes in, when Juan Hernandez converted a header off a corner kick by Castrejon. With 11:50 to play in the first half, Castrejon tallied a goal of his own, tucking a low shot past Mission High’s keeper from about 10 yards away.
Juarez-Lincoln continued to extend its advantage in the second half, when Luis Becerra put home a header off a scramble in the box at 35:42. Angel Garcia rounded out the scoring on a penalty kick at 31:29.
Mission High was stifled throughout the game by Juarez-Lincoln keeper Javier Garcia. The Eagles’ Jesus Garcia came closest to beating him, sending a try across the mouth of the net and wide right just 10 minutes into the game.
With the win, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln solidifies the playoff picture in District 30-6A, even with most teams not closing out the season until Friday.
McAllen High will be the district’s top seeded team, going undefeated through its first 11 district matches. La Joya High and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln will play Friday for the No. 2 seed, with the loser taking third. The fourth and final playoff spot will go to La Joya Palmview, which had just eight points through seven matches but has won three of its past four to vault from sixth to fourth in the standings.
“Our district was very competitive,” Ramos said. “Usually, Brownsville is the one that are very competitive, but this one, this year, it was a little bit different. Everybody played, and they knew how to play. It was very different than last year. “