By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons have set a high standard of UIL girls soccer success in the Rio Grande Valley.
Yet, even with all their accomplishments of winning district (five times in seven years) and going to the regional tournament (six times in eight seasons), the Lady Falcons feel something is missing. They want more.
Since UIL girls soccer first came to South Texas in 1997, no girls team from the Valley has made it to the state tournament. Three times Valley girls squads have advanced to the regional final (McAllen High in 2007, Sharyland High in 2012 and Los Fresnos in 2015) only to come up just short of reaching state.
The District 32-6A champion Lady Falcons (27-2) believe they have a team this season to do something special that would crown all their achievements.
“I see us as on our way up to state,” said senior Rubi Soto, a four-year starter as a defender/forward for the Lady Falcons. “We’re working hard for it.”
The Lady Falcons make their third straight Region IV-6A Tournament appearance at 1 p.m. Friday against District 27-6A champion Cibolo Steele (18-1-2) at San Antonio’s Blossom Athletic Center.
“I just want to go out my senior year knowing we made it over there for the third year in a row,” said Clarissa “Claire” Castaneda, a four-year starter as a center midfielder. “No matter what happens, I’m happy that we’ve made it back to the same level we’ve gone to before.
“It’s amazing (to play for the Lady Falcons),” added Castaneda, who recently signed to play for the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley next school year. “I guess when I was a freshman, we were just trying to get the hang of it. Now that we’re seniors, you can see that we’ve grown so much and how we hold each other accountable (to do our best) from the freshmen to the seniors. We treat everyone as a senior.”
Los Fresnos advanced to the regional tournament thanks to Tuesday’s 2-0 win at home against Rivera in the regional quarterfinals. Cibolo Steele earned its spot opposite the Lady Falcons by winning its regional quarterfinal against Austin Westlake 2-1 on penalty kicks, also Tuesday.
Friday’s Los Fresnos-Cibolo Steele winner plays McAllen High (17-2-1) or Austin Vandegrift (17-1-4) on Saturday afternoon for the Region IV-6A championship and a trip to state.
Leading the way on the offensive end for the Lady Falcons is senior forward Tanya Prazelini, who scored both of her team’s goals in Tuesday’s match. She now has scored a remarkable 66 goals this season.
“I just scored (Tuesday) so we could get a good lead and move on to the next level,” said Prazelini, who is expected to sign a scholarship to play soccer in college after Los Fresnos’ season is over. “I would like me and my girls to go over there (to San Antonio) and win it and I would like us to be the first ones (from the Valley) to go to state.
“It’s the playoffs, so it’s unpredictable,” Prazelini added. “Any team can beat any other team in the playoffs.”
Patricia K. Hernandez is enjoying her second season as the Lady Falcons’ head coach. She was an assistant for two years prior to that. She likes her team’s chances in San Antonio this weekend.
“We have the talent, the leadership, the experience and the desire,” she said. “We have the determination to go beyond the first day at the regional tournament. The sisterhood these girls have is amazing. They play for each other. Regardless if someone’s injured or coming off the bench, they all play for each other with a common goal in mind.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess