By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The Lopez soccer teams repeated recent history Tuesday by capturing district championships.
The Lopez boys defeated Brownsville Veterans Memorial 2-1 and the Lady Lobos edged the Lady Chargers 1-0 in overtime. The two road wins enabled the Lopez boys (12-2, 37 points) and girls (11-3, 32 points) to earn District 32-6A titles.
It was similar to 2014, when the Lopez squads were District 32-5A champions and both qualified for the regional tournament, where the Lobos advanced to state.
They’ll try to duplicate or surpass those feats when the Class 6A playoffs start March 24.
“Getting into the playoffs was our main goal, and winning district is like a little bonus,” said Jose Echevarria, a sophomore midfielder for Lopez. “We’re working hard, giving everything we’ve got and not giving up until the last whistle.”
The Lady Lobos’ Samantha Ruiz, a senior midfielder, scored the eventual game-winner Tuesday on a penalty kick two minutes into OT against the Lady Chargers. She was a part of the Lady Lobos’ district title squad two seasons ago and believes there is a greater potential for both teams to do well in the playoffs because the players are more experienced now than they were in 2014.
“It feels good for both our boys and girls to be district champions,” Ruiz said. “We’re making history again, so I’m proud of that.”
The Lopez boys and girls have to wait until after Friday’s final round of games in District 31-6A for their bi-district opponents to be determined.
“At the beginning of the season we put everything in God’s hands, and here we are,” said coach Amadeo Escandon, now in his 19th year of guiding the Lopez boys. “Winning district is a feeling that never gets old.”
PLAY-IN GAME
The results of Tuesday’s final night of 32-6A competition left Rivera (8-6, 23 points) and Harlingen South (7-7, 23 points) tied for the district’s fourth-place playoff berth.
Since the two teams split their matches during district and finished with the same total number of goals (four) in those games, an extra contest between the Hawks and Raiders is scheduled at 7 p.m. Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium. The winner advances to the playoffs and the season is over for the loser.
South defeated Rivera 3-2 Feb. 5 in Harlingen. The Raiders won 2-1 against the Hawks March 4 at Sams.
“We are going to need to play better than the previous two times against them to get a good result,” Rivera coach Salvador Garcia said. “Coach (Julian) Robles (of South) and I were talking a while back about how close both games were before. We’re hoping both teams can play to their potential so we can give the fans a good game.
“We have a lot of respect for (second-year) Coach Robles and for what he and his coaching staff have done in such a short period of time (in getting the Hawks into playoff contention),” Garcia added.
Robles, a former Porter assistant, echoed Garcia’s sentiments.
“It should be very competitive,” Robles said. “We match up very well against them, and I believe both teams will give a great game for the fans.
“Rivera is a well-coached team with a lot of talent,” he added. “We plan to counter and anticipate anything that might come up during the match. Rivera did its part to get to this elimination game, and we deserve to be here, too.”
Friday’s winner will go against 31-6A champion PSJA Memorial in the bi-district playoffs.
NATIONALLY RANKED
The 32-5A-champion Porter Cowboys, ranked No. 1 in the Rio Grande Valley by RGVSports.com, are receiving national recognition.
The Cowboys, 21-0-1 on the season, are ranked No. 5 in the nation this week by Topdrawersoccer.com.
Lopez, Hanna and Rivera have been ranked nationally by the same organization in recent years.
One year ago, Rivera finished No. 2 in the country after capturing the inaugural Class 6A state title in boys soccer with a 28-0 record.
The Cowboys wrapped up a 14-0 district title showing on Monday with an 8-1 victory at home against Mercedes.
FIRST FOR TARPONS
The Port Isabel boys have won a district title in soccer for the first time. They are District 32-4A co-champions with Progreso, each with 21 points.
The Tarpons will have the top seed from their district for the playoffs and will go against Monte Alto next week in bi-district.
The Lady Tarpons finished second in 32-4A and will be facing Raymondville in bi-district at noon March 24 in Raymondville.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess