By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The progress reports, if they could be termed as such, are in for the first round of boys and girls soccer action in District 32-6A and District 32-5A.
The first half of play was completed in each district Tuesday.
At the head of the class in 32-6A are the Lopez boys and girls, and the Porter boys and PSJA Southwest girls lead the way in 32-5A.
The Lady Lobos emerged from the first half of 32-6A competition undefeated at 7-0 with 20 points after rallying to edge Brownsville Veterans Memorial 2-1 on Tuesday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Not one of the Lady Lobos is saying the team has a comfortable district lead, yet Lopez is up five points on second-place Los Fresnos and Harlingen South (both 5-2 with 15 points).
“It’s a good feeling (to be where we’re at),” Lopez center midfielder Samantha Ruiz said. “I’m proud of our girls. We’re showing up. For the second round, I think we’re going to have to start strong and finish strong as well.
“Maybe it’s a little bit of a comfortable feeling, but not really,” she added. “We have to expect the unexpected because we don’t know what could happen next. We’re just preparing to continue to do well and finish games.”
Added teammate Carla Gracia, a forward, “It’s a lot of pressure because we have a red mark (as a target) on our backs. Everyone’s coming after us, and that means we have to play even better and give 110 percent. Because we have that red mark on our backs, we’re coming really stronger in order to keep (on track for) the title.
“Up to now, we’ve haven’t done anything,” she added. “God willing, we’re going to prove ourselves.”
While it wasn’t the best of nights for the Lopez boys Tuesday, as they lost to Brownsville Veterans 2-0, they still have the 32-6A lead at 6-1 with 18 points. Unlike the Lady Lobos, the Lopez boys no longer have a little breathing room. Right behind them are Brownsville Veterans (5-2, 16 points), Harlingen South (4-3, 14 points), Hanna (5-2, 13 points) and Los Fresnos (4-3, 12 points).
The district takes a break Friday and the second round begins Tuesday with its usual doubleheader format as the boys play at 5:30 p.m. and the girls follow at 7:30 p.m.
32-5A UPDATE: The Porter Cowboys, ranked No. 1 in the Rio Grande Valley by RGVSports.com, have made the most of the first round in 32-5A by going 7-0 and obtaining the maximum possible 21 points. Behind the Cowboys in the 32-5A boys standings are Pace (5-2, 15 points) and PSJA Southwest (5-2, 14 points).
Porter is coming off Tuesday’s 6-0 win at Mercedes to close out the first round of district play.
“Well, so far we have done well,” Cowboys coach Jose Espitia said. “Our team has gone through different lineups due to injuries, and the results have been very positive. This group has depth and that is always a plus. Our boys have matured so much and it shows on and off the field.
“The second round should be closer because now the teams have seen and played each other,” he added.
The good news for the Brownsville girls teams in 32-5A is they are pretty close behind district leader PSJA Southwest (6-1, 17 points). Coming next and tied for second in the girls standings are Pace (5-2, 14 points) and Porter (4-3, 14 points).
The Cowgirls are the only team in district to prevail against PSJA Southwest, winning 1-0 on Feb. 2 in Pharr. The Porter girls are trying to qualify for the state playoffs for the first time in their program’s history.
SOCCER WARRIORS: Tuesday’s 32-6A doubleheader at Sams included a pair of soccer players who are trying to make their senior seasons productive and successful as they return from injury.
Lopez forward Christie Escandon missed virtually all of last season after her 29 goals as a sophomore helped lead the Lady Lobos to a district championship in 2014.
She’s still dealing with her injury and wearing a knee brace. Still, she’s focused upon being a vital contributor to the team this season.
“The fact that I’m a senior helps me go harder than I usually would, especially with my injury,” said Escandon, who scored the game-winning goal Tuesday. “In the end, it’s no fear (for me), just determination.”
Another player coming back from injury is Brownsville Veterans forward Jesus Muniz, also a senior. He is returning from an ACL.
Muniz’s goal gave the Chargers a 1-0 lead Tuesday against Lopez. It was his third goal in two games.
“I suffered an ACL my sophomore year and then again as a junior (in 2015),” Muniz said. “Hopefully I’m back to play again (for the whole season).”
TAPPS UPDATE: The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds (17-5-1) will play Fort Worth Nolan (11-7-1) in the TAPPS quarterfinals at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bob Benson 1966 Stadium in San Antonio.
SJA opened the TAPPS playoffs Tuesday with a 4-0 victory against Plano Prestonwood at Canales Field. Nolan prevailed against Houston St. Pius 1-0 the same day during its playoff opener.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.
The first half of play was completed in each district Tuesday.
At the head of the class in 32-6A are the Lopez boys and girls, and the Porter boys and PSJA Southwest girls lead the way in 32-5A.
The Lady Lobos emerged from the first half of 32-6A competition undefeated at 7-0 with 20 points after rallying to edge Brownsville Veterans Memorial 2-1 on Tuesday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Not one of the Lady Lobos is saying the team has a comfortable district lead, yet Lopez is up five points on second-place Los Fresnos and Harlingen South (both 5-2 with 15 points).
“It’s a good feeling (to be where we’re at),” Lopez center midfielder Samantha Ruiz said. “I’m proud of our girls. We’re showing up. For the second round, I think we’re going to have to start strong and finish strong as well.
“Maybe it’s a little bit of a comfortable feeling, but not really,” she added. “We have to expect the unexpected because we don’t know what could happen next. We’re just preparing to continue to do well and finish games.”
Added teammate Carla Gracia, a forward, “It’s a lot of pressure because we have a red mark (as a target) on our backs. Everyone’s coming after us, and that means we have to play even better and give 110 percent. Because we have that red mark on our backs, we’re coming really stronger in order to keep (on track for) the title.
“Up to now, we’ve haven’t done anything,” she added. “God willing, we’re going to prove ourselves.”
While it wasn’t the best of nights for the Lopez boys Tuesday, as they lost to Brownsville Veterans 2-0, they still have the 32-6A lead at 6-1 with 18 points. Unlike the Lady Lobos, the Lopez boys no longer have a little breathing room. Right behind them are Brownsville Veterans (5-2, 16 points), Harlingen South (4-3, 14 points), Hanna (5-2, 13 points) and Los Fresnos (4-3, 12 points).
The district takes a break Friday and the second round begins Tuesday with its usual doubleheader format as the boys play at 5:30 p.m. and the girls follow at 7:30 p.m.
32-5A UPDATE
The Porter Cowboys, ranked No. 1 in the Rio Grande Valley by RGVSports.com, have made the most of the first round in 32-5A by going 7-0 and obtaining the maximum possible 21 points. Behind the Cowboys in the 32-5A boys standings are Pace (5-2, 15 points) and PSJA Southwest (5-2, 14 points).
Porter is coming off Tuesday’s 6-0 win at Mercedes to close out the first round of district play.
“Well, so far we have done well,” Cowboys coach Jose Espitia said. “Our team has gone through different lineups due to injuries, and the results have been very positive. This group has depth and that is always a plus. Our boys have matured so much and it shows on and off the field.
“The second round should be closer because now the teams have seen and played each other,” he added.
The good news for the Brownsville girls teams in 32-5A is they are pretty close behind district leader PSJA Southwest (6-1, 17 points). Coming next and tied for second in the girls standings are Pace (5-2, 14 points) and Porter (4-3, 14 points).
The Cowgirls are the only team in district to prevail against PSJA Southwest, winning 1-0 on Feb. 2 in Pharr. The Porter girls are trying to qualify for the state playoffs for the first time in their program’s history.
SOCCER WARRIORS
Tuesday’s 32-6A doubleheader at Sams included a pair of soccer players who are trying to make their senior seasons productive and successful as they return from injury.
Lopez forward Christie Escandon missed virtually all of last season after her 29 goals as a sophomore helped lead the Lady Lobos to a district championship in 2014.
She’s still dealing with her injury and wearing a knee brace. Still, she’s focused upon being a vital contributor to the team this season.
“The fact that I’m a senior helps me go harder than I usually would, especially with my injury,” said Escandon, who scored the game-winning goal Tuesday. “In the end, it’s no fear (for me), just determination.”
Another player coming back from injury is Brownsville Veterans forward Jesus Muniz, also a senior. He is returning from an ACL.
Muniz’s goal gave the Chargers a 1-0 lead Tuesday against Lopez. It was his third goal in two games.
“I suffered an ACL my sophomore year and then again as a junior (in 2015),” Muniz said. “Hopefully I’m back to play again (for the whole season).”
TAPPS UPDATE
The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds (17-5-1) will play Fort Worth Nolan (11-7-1) in the TAPPS quarterfinals at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bob Benson 1966 Stadium in San Antonio.
SJA opened the TAPPS playoffs Tuesday with a 4-0 victory against Plano Prestonwood at Canales Field. Nolan prevailed against Houston St. Pius 1-0 the same day during its playoff opener.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.