By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
District 32-5A soccer teams from Brownsville, both boys and girls, enjoyed successful outings Tuesday.
First for the girls, Pace triumphed at home against Donna North 2-1 in penalty kicks and Porter earned a 2-0 win on the road against Donna High.
The Porter girls, who received a pair of goals from Priscila Cortinas on Tuesday, have won three straight games for a 3-2 mark in 32-5A with 10 points, which is good for a third-place tie behind Pace and PSJA Southwest, each with 4-1 records and 11 points.
“The girls have been doing great,” Cowgirls coach Abraham Gracia said. “I see them getting better and better. Our girls are showing great dedication and have been playing their hearts out every game.
“Things have been coming together,” Gracia added. “For now, we’re just taking it one game at a time, and, God willing, things will keep going well.”
The win for the Pace girls did not come without some controversy.
With 1:11 left in regulation and the score tied at 1, Donna North was awarded a penalty kick that could have won the game. The referee apparently blew his whistle and the penalty kick was taken and converted. But because a Pace player had been leaving the field at the same time for substitution purposes, the referee instructed the Donna North player to retake the PK, and when she did it over again, her try hit the crossbar and bounced away.
After 80 minutes of regulation and a tie score, the match went directly to PKs, where the Pace girls won 3-0. Officially, it goes down as a 2-1 win for the Lady Vikings.
The Porter boys maintained their 32-5A lead with a 5-0 record and 15 points thanks to Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Donna High. Scoring for Porter were Ricardo Vidal and Alexis Armendariz.
The second-place Pace boys (4-1, 12 points) were sparked by Alberto “Chema” Renteria’s first-half goal in a 1-0 victory against Donna North.
“Yes, (it was an important win),” Pace coach Mario A. Zamora said. “Donna North is playing good soccer.”
CALM IN THE STORM: Lopez coach Amadeo Escandon, now in his 19th season guiding the Lobos, practically always displays a calm demeanor, even when things become tight and tense during a game.
To be honest, he said, his outward appearance is a bit deceiving.
“First of all, that calmness on the outside is just a masquerade,” Escandon said after a win last week. “(Sometimes) I’m boiling inside.”
The Lobos are the hot team in District 32-6A right now as they lead the boys race with a 5-0 record and 15 points. In second place, each with 10 points, are Hanna (4-1) and Brownsville Veterans Memorial (3-2).
The Lopez girls also are leading 32-6A at 5-0 with 14 points. The Los Fresnos girls are close behind at 4-1 with 12 points.
The first half of 32-6A competition hasn’t yet been completed and there’s still a lot of soccer to be played, but it’s already looking a little similar to 2014 when the Lobos and Lady Lobos each won district titles with 15-1 and 15-0 records, respectively.
BUSY WEEK: The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds have an important TAPPS district game coming up at 1 p.m. Saturday at home against San Antonio Antonian as they try to win their district title for the second straight year.
The Bloodhounds are playing at home three times this week. They faced Port Isabel on Tuesday at Canales Field and lost 3-1. They’ll be at home against La Feria at 7:30 p.m. Friday before facing Antonian the next day.
The 3-1 loss to the Tarpons was somewhat surprising since SJA had won 6-1 at Port Isabel just one month ago.
“We gave our best effort, I was without five starters and it was scoreless until the last 15 minutes,” SJA coach Tino Villarreal said of Tuesday’s game. “We are having some trouble finishing games. It needs to be a wakeup call for us.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.