By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
To hardly anyone’s surprise, Brownsville boys soccer teams from District 32-6A swept District 31-6A in Class 6A bi-district matchups last week.
Add in Class 5A bi-district victories by the boys squads of Porter and Pace from District 32-5A against District 31-5A and it was a 6-0 showing in the opening round of the playoffs by Brownsville ISD boys teams.
In practically any other sport, that feat might be considered rather amazing, but not in soccer, particularly for the boys.
“Brownsville soccer has developed a reputation of having playoff-ready teams,” said Brownsville Veterans Memorial coach Alberto Vasquez, whose Chargers defeated Edinburg North 3-2 in bi-district last Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Added Lopez coach Amadeo Escandon regarding 32-6A, “It’s not surprising at all because we are one of the toughest districts in the state.”
The 32-6A champion Lobos downed Edinburg Economedes 6-1 in bi-district last Thursday at Sams.
In other 6A bi-district matches involving 32-6A boys teams, Rivera beat PSJA Memorial 4-2 and Hanna prevailed against Weslaco East 2-1 in penalty kicks.
Rivera coach Salvador Garcia said it wasn’t easy for his 32-6A fourth-place Raiders to win against the 31-6A champion Wolverines, who led 1-0 at halftime.
“I was surprised how good PSJA Memorial was,” Garcia said. “We played them back in January during the BISD Tournament and they beat us. This time around they were even better, and I finally understood why they ran away with the district title. I think they played a good first half, but our players had an outstanding second half (scoring four goals), and that was the difference.”
In the 5A playoffs last Thursday, Pace shut out Roma 3-0 and Porter blanked Edinburg Vela 2-0.
Of course, things get tougher starting Friday in second-round postseason action, but it was still quite a dominant showing by Brownsville in bi-district.
Other Metro-area squads moving on to the next round after last week’s bi-district wins are the Lopez girls, Los Fresnos girls, Porter girls and the boys and girls from Port Isabel.
In all, that’s 11 of 14 Metro-area playoff teams advancing beyond bi-district in soccer.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Only a few Rio Grande Valley teams were fortunate enough to win coin flips and play home games during this week’s area playoffs. Most Valley teams are playing at neutral sites as far away as Laredo and San Antonio.
Among the ones winning those coin flips were the boys teams of Lopez, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and Valley View along with the Port Isabel girls.
In matches at 7 p.m. Friday, Juarez-Lincoln will be the home team against Rivera at La Joya ISD Stadium and Valley View is at home against Flour Bluff. The Port Isabel girls play host to La Vernia at 5 p.m. Friday.
The Lopez boys will be the home team against La Joya High at 8 p.m. Friday at Brownsville Sports Park. The game was moved from Sams for “precautionary” reasons while a stadium light tower is checked out, Brownsville ISD athletic director Mark Guess said.
All other Valley teams are on the road this weekend, including the La Feria boys, who must travel all the way to La Vernia for Friday’s 7 p.m. match.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
Every soccer player dreams of scoring the kind of memorable goal that he or she will never forget.
Celia Garza, a freshman midfielder for Port Isabel, enjoyed such a treasured moment during her team’s 2-1 bi-district triumph at Raymondville last Thursday. On a windy afternoon, it was Garza’s second-half Olympic goal off a corner kick taken from the right side that lifted the Lady Tarpons to victory, their first playoff win in three years of playing UIL soccer.
“I’ll always remember it,” Garza said of her goal. “I can tell my children about it.”
Garza then laughed at the thought of what she had just said, and so did sophomore teammate Jennifer Martinez, who was standing next to her. Martinez scored the Lady Tarpons’ first goal against Raymondville.
“I practice corner kicks all the time, and sometimes they go in (for an Olympic goal),” Garza said. “Practice makes perfect.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Valley teams still alive in the playoffs by this time next week will be playing at regional tournaments in Brownsville, Corpus Christi and Mission on April 8-9.
For the second straight year, the Region IV-6A Tournament will be played at Brownsville Sports Park. The Region IV-5A Tournament returns to Corpus Christi’s Cabaniss Field, while the Region IV-4A Tournament, with McAllen ISD as the host, will be played at Sharyland High’s Richard Thompson Stadium.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess