GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
McAllen Memorial boys soccer hasn’t had a winning season since 2004, but a run to the semifinals of the Mission Tournament has coach Eduardo Calderon even more confident this could be the year the team breaks that streak.
The Mustangs went an undefeated 6-0 in group play, knocking off RGVSports.com’s No. 7 team Brownsville Lopez along the way. Memorial got by Laredo United in PKs in the quarterfinals before falling 3-1 to Sharyland High in the semis.
“That’s the main focus: to turn it around this year,” Calderon said. “Out of 42 teams, we were one of the last four standing. Now they believe it, they know they can do it, and hopefully we will do it this year.
In his third year at the helm of the Mustangs, Calderon brings back an experienced group with 10 returning starters, including five seniors. The communication between the players is stronger than he’s ever seen it, a product of not just three high school seasons together but also an increased emphasis on playing together in summer leagues.
“The main thing is they know the system,” Calderon said. “They’ve been with me three years. I haven’t done anything really new, but they got bigger, and they got faster.”
The Mustangs are led by three seniors captains: Ricky Hernandez, Julian Espinosa and Armando Perez.
Perez is the team’s leading scorer, a player Calderon said has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Espinoza is the standout on the defensive side and represents an imposing presence in the middle at 6 feet tall.
“Honestly, I think he’s one of the best defenders in the Valley,” Calderon said. “His standouts are his strength, his ability to win balls in the air, and his ability to time the ball. It’s really hard to beat him one on one.”
EARLY RESULTS
With nine returning starters from a team that advanced to the regional semifinals last year, Sharyland Pioneer coach J.J. Lopez has a group that is mostly already jelled together.
The familiarity is paying early dividends for the Lady Diamondbacks, who last weekend won the Border Olympics tournament in Laredo.
“Usually at the beginning of the season, you struggle trying to get different lineups,” Lopez said. “It just seems right now we’re at a good point where we can bring some people off the bench, and they’re able to contribute. We’re really working good as a group.”
Lopez said the “usual suspects” have been standing out early. Among the strong core of returners are Julie Alanis, Taylor Marquez, Stephanie Barrientos and Andrea Reyes, who scored nine goals during the tournament.
“It just seems that she’s understanding the system a lot better,” Lopez said. “She’s a go-getter up in the front as a striker, and she’s making a lot of things happen for us.”
The returners have been key to integrating Pioneer’s newcomers, a group highlighted by freshman Olivia Vasquez.
Lopez said the Lady Diamondbacks have been unselfish and have expanded their attacking styles compared to last season.
“We’re certainly going to add more,” Lopez said. “Last year, we had a very young group, and it was one of those things where if we handed them too much, too soon, it would just confuse them.”
McHI MILESTONE
The McAllen High girls team is in search of a major milestone this week, heading to the Brownsville Tournament just one win shy of 400 in the program’s history.
Coach Pat Arney, who has coached the team since its inception in 1997, believes McHi will be the first in the Valley to reach 400.
“It’s a great milestone,” Arney said. “I really don’t know if anybody else has done it, so it’s kind of a first for us. It’s a pretty cool thing.”