By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Here they are, Pace and Porter, facing each other for the third time this season in the regional quarterfinal round of the Class 5A playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sams Memorial Stadium, each with a chance to advance to the Region IV-5A tournament later this week.
It’s the kind of high-stakes playoff game Brownsville soccer fans enjoy watching.
“I see our match on Tuesday as our third final, just like our first- and second-round playoff games,” said Pace coach Mario A. Zamora, whose team has defeated Valley View 2-0 and Corpus Christi Moody 3-1 in the postseason so far. “We have to come out to the field focused and ready to give our best.”
The Vikings and Cowboys are two of the five Metro-area teams playing regional quarterfinal games Tuesday.
Tuesday’s matches involving Class 6A area teams include Hanna’s boys playing PSJA North at 7 p.m. at Weslaco East, Los Fresnos’ girls taking on McAllen High at 7 p.m. at Weslaco’s Bobby Lackey Stadium and Rivera’s boys going against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at 7:30 p.m. at Donna’s Bennie LaPrade Stadium. The starting time for the Hanna game was moved from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The Porter-Pace winner advances to Friday’s Region IV-5A Tournament at Corpus Christi’s Cabaniss Field, and the 6A winners move on to the Region IV-6A tournament starting Friday at Brownsville Sports Park.
As it turns out, not only Porter and Pace, but all four boys teams that qualified for the playoffs from District 32-5A are still alive in the postseason. PSJA Southwest and Donna High are the other two 32-5A teams, and they square off at 7 p.m. Tuesday at PSJA Stadium with the winner gaining a berth at the Region IV-5A Tournament in Corpus Christi.
“I don’t think it’s a surprise to see all four 32-5A teams in the regional quarterfinals,” said Porter coach Jose Espitia, whose Cowboys won their first two playoff games against Sharyland Pioneer 3-0 and Laredo Cigarroa7-1. “All four teams display good soccer, and that reflects the growth of soccer in the Valley.”
Concerning his team’s matchup with Pace, an opponent the Cowboys defeated 4-0 and 5-0 in district, Espitia said, “We know that Pace has made some adjustments and has found the right mix of players for the playoffs. As coaches, that’s what we strive for — to be at our peak come playoff time.
“Our boys are focused and they understand that what happened in our previous games versus Pace is old news,” he added. “We are expecting a hard-fought game because there is way more than three points (for winning a district game) on the line.”
Espitia said it’s ironic that one year ago the Cowboys and Vikings finished the regular season playing against each other and both were disappointed as neither one had qualified for the playoffs. Porter won that game 1-0.
“It’s amazing how things change,” the Porter coach said. “Just last year we were both playing our final game of the regular season with nothing (to look forward to) in the playoffs, and now we’re playing a regional quarterfinal.”
Like the Cowboys, the Vikings also are pretty motivated about their opportunity to continue advancing in the playoffs.
“I’m so happy with how the squad is playing right now,” Zamora said. “The team has been playing better every game. The guys are focused, motivated and mentally prepared to face (the challenge of) these playoff games. They did a great job in the first and second round, and we want to continue on that track. I’m very proud of them.”
While all three of the Metro-area’s 6A teams still alive in the postseason will again be playing on the road Tuesday, their games will be much closer to home than last week’s area-round matches when Rivera’s boys defeated Del Rio 3-1 in Laredo, Los Fresnos’ girls triumphed over Laredo United 2-0 at Roma and Hanna’s boys prevailed against Laredo LBJ 1-0 at La Joya.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.