By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Kryssie Rivera’s senior season of soccer at Pace continues to reach new levels of achievement.
Rivera, a standout member of the Lady Vikings’ 7-0 District 32-5A-leading squad, signed an athletic scholarship Monday afternoon at the Pace gym to play next school year for the women’s soccer team at the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg.
On Feb. 2, Rivera, a four-year starter, reached the 100-goal milestone for her high school career in a 5-0 win at Mercedes. She now has 111 goals during her time at Pace and already has scored 40 this season.
Rivera, who plans to pursue an education degree in college, knows what’s ahead for her playing at an NCAA Division I program.
“(This signing) definitely means a lot more work and a lot more commitment to the sport,” said Rivera, who also plays for the Houston Dynamo Academy in McAllen. “I do know what I’m walking into. I’m really excited and I think I’m going to take it far.
“I’m feeling confident about getting to sign and being able to start fresh, actually,” she added. “I’ll be starting over as a ‘fish’ (freshman). It’s an ideal situation because if I ever get homesick, I wouldn’t mind just driving an hour (back to Brownsville) to visit my family and spend time with them. Since I’m really used to having my parent (mother Rosario Rivera) there for me, she can just drive an hour (to Edinburg) and see me play.”
Rivera becomes the first female soccer player from Pace to sign with an NCAA Division I women’s soccer program and is believed to be the first female from Brownsville ISD to sign an athletic scholarship with UTRGV, which opened in August 2015.
Others from Brownsville ISD, including Isidro “Chelin” Martinez, Juanito Garcia and Carlos Acevedo, have played for the UTRGV men’s soccer team.
Monday marked quite a day to remember, Lady Vikings coach Jesus O. Villarreal said.
“It’s one more step for our program,” Villarreal said. “We just feel proud that Kryssie has decided to sign and that she’s going over there (to a Division I program close to home). We’ll stay in touch with her and hopefully go over there to see her play. In our program, there’s just pride today, nothing else but pride in what she’s doing.”
Villarreal has coached Rivera at Pace all four years.
“Actually, we saw her play as an eighth-grader at Manzano (Middle School), and right away, we knew she was varsity material,” the Lady Vikings coach said. “She’s an athlete who loves soccer. She sacrifices, she’s always there in practice and she’s a leader. This year, Kryssie has been scoring all these goals plus she’s an excellent student. Her grades, they’re just beautiful.
“Throughout all these four years, she’s just been tremendous — on and off the field,” Villarreal added. “The fact of the matter is if an NCAA Division I school is signing her, that means the talent is there. I also know she’s not the only one from Brownsville who has the talent to play (at that level).”
Rivera said she has many people to thank for helping her reach her latest accomplishment.
“I’ve said before and I’ll continue saying it until I die, I thank my mom, especially, and all my friends and family who have supported me since I started playing when I was 5,” Rivera said. “They’ve been there my whole life, really.”
The door is now open beyond high school to the standout senior’s future.
“It’s like my coaches say, ‘Always dream big,’” Rivera said.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess