By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The District 32-6A girls soccer race has turned out to be as close and crazy as it was projected to be.
The district reached its halfway point Tuesday, and so far, the Harlingen South Lady Hawks (6-1, 18 points) lead the way with Lopez (5-2, 15 points), Hanna (5-2, 15 points) and Los Fresnos (5-2, 14 points) right behind them.
Rivera (3-4, 10 points) and Brownsville Veterans Memorial (2-5, six points) come next with San Benito (1-6, three points) and Harlingen High (1-6, three points) tied for last place.
When asked if he thought the Lady Hawks would be in first place at this point, South coach Omar Pedroza said, “To be honest, not really because our district is so tough. Everybody in this district is good. A 1-5 team can defeat a 5-1 team on any given night, so you have to be ready to play or you can get beat. Things can change drastically (in the standings) within just a week. There is still a long way to go.”
South lost its second game of district 1-0 to Lopez and has since won five straight matches. Another team on a confidence-building winning streak is Los Fresnos, which has won four in a row, including Tuesday’s 3-2 victory in penalty kicks at home against Hanna.
“Collectively as a group, I hope our girls decide to play to their (high) standard of play and nobody else’s,” Los Fresnos coach Marissa Wood said. “When we do that, amazing things happen for us, and we play beautiful soccer. The hardest team for us (to overcome) this season is ourselves. If we can work together to get past that, and not beat ourselves in certain areas, we’re going to make a dent (in district).”
SURPRISE RESULT
Proof that the 32-6A girls race can be unpredictable came Tuesday when Brownsville Veterans surprised Lopez.
The Lady Chargers and Lady Lobos were tied 1 at intermission before Brownsville Veterans scored during the second half to win 2-1. Both of Brownsville Veterans’ goals were scored by Mia Villalpando.
“Anytime you get a win in our district it’s a good thing considering how tough our district is,” Lady Chargers coach Luis Troncoso said. “Anytime you get a win over a good team like Lopez, it certainly becomes a motivational boost.
“Our intent is to take this win and momentum into the second round of district with the belief that we can perform at a much better level in the upcoming games,” Troncoso added. “It won’t be easy, but I know we have the capability of winning additional games down the road and to make it a better second round for us.”
The Lady Chargers face another tough challenge against South at 7:15 p.m. Friday in Harlingen as the second half of district play begins.
REMATCH
The Lopez girls play at Los Fresnos at 7:15 p.m. Friday in one of the most interesting matchups to open the second half of 32-6A action.
When the teams began district Jan. 27 at Lopez, the Lady Lobos came away with a 1-0 victory in overtime.
The Los Fresnos girls say they have been looking forward to the rematch.
“We remember (that game) and we’re excited to play them again and see what we can do,” said Suzy Rodriguez, a senior right wing for the Lady Falcons. “We’ve been working really hard, and I think we’re going to come back stronger than first time (we played them). We’re going to play for each other, and we know we’re capable of doing it. We can get the win.”
NIGHT OFF
District 32-5A also completed the first half of district play Tuesday. The district has an open date Friday and will start second-round action next Tuesday.
So far for the 32-5A girls, the leading teams are Donna North (6-1, 17 points), Edcouch-Elsa (6-1, 15 points), Porter (5-2, 15 points), PSJA Southwest (4-3, 15 points) and Pace (4-3, 13 points).
One of Tuesday’s top games for 32-5A girls will find Porter at Donna North at 8 p.m. The earlier boys game at 6 p.m. at the same site that night between Porter (7-0, 20 points) and Donna North (4-3, 12 points) will match the first- and third-place teams in the district.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.