ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Whether it’s the girls or the boys, one of the best soccer rivalries in Brownsville these days is between Hanna and Rivera.
The Lady Golden Eagles and Lady Raiders opened District 32-6A competition Friday at Rivera, and the result was a 3-1 win for the Hanna girls.
Later, the Hanna and Rivera boys played in the nightcap of Friday’s 32-6A doubleheader. It was a good night for Hanna as the Eagles won 1-0 to sweep the two games.
The opening match saw Sytlaly Loyde score all three second-half goals for the Lady Eagles, who built a 3-0 advantage before the Lady Raiders’ Yianey Diaz found the net with seven minutes remaining to account for the final score.
Lady Eagles coach Eliseo Guzman said it was a sweet win for his team against a city rival that had beaten his girls 3-2 with a late goal during the semifinals of the PSJA Tournament two weeks ago.
“We’ve been practicing good passing of the ball (and that was a key for us tonight),” Guzman said. “That’s what we’re trying to do with the girls. Even though it was hard at the beginning (during a scoreless first half), we were (finally) able to open spaces to score our goals, and that helped us a lot.
“Our girls gave everything to beat this (Rivera) team that has a lot of potential,” he added. “I told our girls, ‘If you don’t give 100 percent, they’re going to beat you,’ so thank God they played with 100 percent (effort).”
Loyde’s first goal to make it 1-0 came during the 47th minute on a header that bounced into the net. Her goal to make it 2-0 came 10 minutes later, during the 57th minute, when Loyde sent a crossing shot from the right side to the left corner of the net.
Loyde completed her hat trick for a 3-0 advantage during the 64th minute on a medium-range shot.
With seven minutes to go, Rivera’s Diaz attacked down the middle and beat the Hanna goalkeeper in a 1-on-1 matchup to cut the lead to 3-1.
Loyde returned to action Friday after missing Hanna’s previous game, an 8-1 non-district victory at home against La Feria last week. She sat out the La Feria game due to an injury.
“Yes, she’s back,” Guzman said of Loyde. “Thank God for this victory.”
The boys played with equal intensity before a lively, vocal crowd, befitting a city rivalry match.
The outcome was decided during the 23rd minute as Hanna’s Kevin Ochoa sent a shot into the net from the left side for a 1-0 lead that stood up the rest of the way.
“Any time you beat Rivera with their great team and their great coaches, it’s very special,” Hanna coach Reyes Prado said. “It’s good because it shows we can play with the very well-coached teams.
“Yes, it’s a good win, but it’s only one win,” Prado added. “We still have a long way ahead of us.”