By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
History actually repeats itself quite frequently for the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons in soccer.
It’s a history of winning district championships and going far into the playoffs that seems to happen pretty much every season.
This year is no different, at least concerning the District 32-6A tile. The playoffs are still ahead and will start March 29.
Thanks to Monday’s 4-0 victory at home against Weslaco High, the Lady Falcons (12-2, 35 points) claimed the district crown for the sixth time in nine years. The goal now for the Los Fresnos girls in the playoffs will be to reach the regional tournament for the seventh time in nine years, a string of success that includes appearances at that level of the postseason during each of the last three seasons.
The district championship was never really a given for the Lady Falcons in 2018 after they graduated standout playmakers Tanya Prazelini and Clarissa “Claire” Castaneda from last year’s 27-3 district championship team. Prazelini scored a Valley girls single-season record 68 goals in 2017 and Castaneda, a four-year starter as a center midfielder, was a fixture in the lineup and was always a reliable source for creating goal-producing plays. Both signed to play in college.
The Lady Falcons began the current season with no proven scorers who could be consistently relied upon for goals. But as always seems to be the case at Los Fresnos, other players stepped forward to lead the team to another district trophy.
Recently, senior Cassy Lozano and freshman Yulianna Moreno have scored four and three goals, respectively, in a match, so the goal output is coming around at the right time.
“Coming into this season, we knew our opponents were going to underestimate us and that we were going to be an underdog (considering the ones we graduated from last year),” Lady Falcons coach Patricia A. Hernandez said. “But you can’t rule us out. We’ve been showing that throughout district this year.
“I respect and appreciate the effort these girls give and the will they have to win,” she added. “They play for each other. As a coach, I couldn’t have asked for a better team this year. It’s all come together for us.
“The leadership that we have this season, it’s been something where the experienced players have embraced the newcomers to the varsity. I truly believe it’s our leadership on the field (that is making the difference).”
In the bi-district round of the Class 6A playoffs, the Lady Falcons will go against PSJA High, the fourth-place finisher from District 31-6A. The two teams are scheduled to flip a coin at 2:30 p.m. Monday to determine the details of their playoff matchup.
OTHER 6A PLAYOFFS
There was a lot of coin flipping going on Wednesday as teams from 32-6A and 31-6A set up their bi-district matchups.
For the boys, the now arranged matchups include 32-6A champion Rivera playing Edinburg High at 7 p.m. March 29 at Edinburg’s Richard R. Flores Stadium, while Hanna will be playing at the same site against Edinburg North at noon on March 31. Tentatively, Los Fresnos will play host to Edinburg Economedes at 7 p.m. March 29. That time could change (but not the site) if the Lady Falcons win their coin flip and get to play at home. too.
The other boys bi-district matchup has Harlingen High playing at home against 31-6A champion PSJA Southwest at 6 p.m. March 29 at Boggus Stadium.
Besides Los Fresnos vs. PSJA High, after flips regarding the girls bi-district matchups of other 32-6A teams, it’s 31-6A champion Edinburg North playing in Brownsville against Rivera on March 29, probably at Sams Memorial Stadium (time to be determined). Also, it’s Harlingen South at PSJA Memorial at 6:30 p.m. March 29 and Harlingen High at Edinburg Vela at 6 p.m. March 29.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess