By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Based on the results of the first round of District 32-6A boys soccer competition, Hanna figured to be the team with the best chance to derail unbeaten conference leader Rivera in the second round, if such a thing was possible.
When the teams matched up again Friday on a clear, somewhat warm afternoon at Brownsville Sports Park, Hanna battled Rivera to a scoreless tie through the first 40 minutes, but the Raiders tallied a pair of goals during the second half to emerge with a 2-0 victory and clinch the outright 32-6A championship with one game remaining.
Scoring goals for the Rio Grande Valley’s top-ranked Raiders (13-0, 39 points) were Hernan Cruz and Isidro “Chelin” Martinez.
Just three minutes into the second half, Cruz provided Rivera with a 1-0 lead when he sent a high-arcing chip shot into the far corner of the goal from the left side about 12 yards out. The Hanna goalkeeper was unable to make a play on the ball as he watched the perfectly placed shot float over him and into the back corner of the net.
Suddenly, the Raiders were in control on the scoreboard.
“We weren’t playing our best game during the first half, and our coach (Salvador Garcia) told us to fix things (in the second half),” said Cruz, a junior midfielder and three-year starter. “I was really glad that I scored. I wasn’t expecting it at all. I got a pass from Alfredo Villarreal (and I scored).”
Added Garcia, “I think we were a little flat, but in the second half the players made the adjustments to help us win. A lot of it was because of the opponent we had in front of us — Hanna. Our district is tough. You have to come ready to play, and we were not ready to play in the first half. The second half we were ready to play, and it’s something we’ve got to learn to do all the time, the whole game.”
Rivera survived a strong challenge from the Golden Eagles 3-2 on Feb. 13 during the first half of district play, and the Raiders were anticipating another close battle during Friday’s rematch.
The Valley’s No. 4 Eagles (10-3, 30 points) remained in second place in 32-6A.
With 28 minutes remaining, the Hanna goalkeeper came out and tried to get there first to intercept the ball as it came over to Martinez, who was about 15 yards out on the right side. “Chelin” nudged the ball past the goalkeeper to give himself an uncontested shot into an open goal to boost the lead to 2-0.
“I was just there, I got the ball and I couldn’t believe it,” said Martinez, a senior attacking midfielder and four-year starter. “It was such an open shot in a pretty close game, so I was thinking, ‘This can’t be happening,’ but it did. I saw the goalkeeper coming at me, so I touched the ball to the side and crossed it to (inside) the far post.
“Hanna has been at us (and playing us hard) all four years that I’ve been at Rivera,” he added. “They’ve been a pretty good team since I was a freshman, and they’ll probably be even better next year. I really like playing Hanna because it’s always a real tough game. And actually, it’s not just Hanna, it’s everyone in our district. No matter who it is, it’s a hard match.”
The referees gave the teams water breaks midway through each half since playing on the artificial turf at BSP in the afternoon made things fairly hot for the players. The first time, during the opening half, the clock was stopped for the water break.
During the second half, the water break began with 19:00 showing on the clock, and it kept running as the players went to their respective sidelines for refreshment. When action resumed there was 16:46 showing on the clock and more than two minutes had elapsed during the break. Perhaps a testament to the warm conditions, neither team complained that the clock had been running and the fans didn’t seem to mind, either.
The Raiders have one district game left against San Benito next Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium. The Eagles will close district the same day at Los Fresnos.
Each team is headed to the playoffs, which start March 26.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.