By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
Porter has received a double distinction to cap a memorable season of soccer.
The Southmost school boasts the boys and girls coaches of the year on The Brownsville Herald’s 2016 All-Metro Soccer Team.
Jose Espitia guided his 28-0-1 squad to Porter’s second Class 5A state championship last month in Georgetown, while Abraham Gracia directed the 15-8-4 Cowgirls to the playoffs for the first time since the UIL girls sport started at Porter in 1997. The boys started playing UIL soccer in 1983.
It was quite a remarkable season for each soccer program.
While going to the playoffs is pretty much a tradition for the Cowboys, Gracia hopes to make it an annual event as well now for the Cowgirls, who had come close to the postseason several times before but never qualified.
“Our girls did an awesome job this year,” said Gracia, who just completed his eighth season directing the Cowgirls. “They were committed, they were dedicated and they were everything you could ask for in a team. They were one of the hardest-working groups I’ve had. It meant a lot to see us go to the playoffs. There were a lot of hard years that went into it. That was my goal for the team when I first got hired.
“There were times I felt like giving up, but thanks to assistant coaches and others, it kept me going because sometimes things were tough. Actually, coaches at the other Brownsville schools have helped me a lot, too.”
Gracia, who is assisted by Ricardo Salazar, said he is honored to be selected as the All-Metro girls coach of the year.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It shows hard work pays off. More than anything, it’s our girls. They’re the ones who deserve the recognition. Getting to the playoffs was enough for me, and this makes it so much better.”
The Cowgirls finished second in District 32-5A with a 10-4 record and 33 points. They advanced to the second round of the playoffs before falling 2-1 in overtime to Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial. The Cowgirls defeated Valley View 3-0 in bi-district.
There are nine starters returning.
“We’re just looking forward to next year,” Gracia said.
Espitia just completed his ninth season at the helm for Porter, which won the District 32-5A title with a 14-0 record and 42 points.
2016 was his most memorable showing yet as the Cowboys won seven games in the playoffs en route to capturing the 5A state title April 16 in Georgetown. It took a 10-9 edge in penalty kicks to give the 32-5A champion Cowboys a 3-2 victory against highly regarded and previously undefeated Frisco Wakeland in the state final.
“It was a magical season in every aspect,” said Espitia, who is assisted by Eddie Buentello, Adrian Navarro and Antonio Serrano. “Everything that we as coaches told the players was going to happen, happened. Little by little, everything fell into place since the beginning of the season. Our guys were very focused on what they wanted. We saw winning state as a thing of destiny and we told the players that no one was going to take it away from us. We just had that feeling. It had a lot to do with the faith we had in our players, our team and in God. Our guys were united and they gelled together to have the perfect season. It was a magical one that I’m always going to remember.”
Earlier this month, Espitia was named 5A boys coach of the year for Region IV by the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches. Also, Buentello was chosen 5A boys assistant coach of the year for Region IV by TASCO.
“Any recognition we get (as coaches) is a reflection of how well our teams do,” Espitia said. “It just shows how good our players are and how hard they work. Yes, the coaches put a lot of work into it, but we all have to work together, and it has to be a team effort. The head coach gets credit for something like this, but it’s really a total team effort with support from the administration, the teachers, the parents and everyone, really.
“Everything just fell into place for us. Now we’re enjoying it, and hopefully we can do it again next year.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess