By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The Rivera Lady Raiders are one of the feel-good stories of the 2017 soccer season in the Rio Grande Valley.
After last year’s frustrating 0-14 finish in District 32-6A, the Lady Raiders turned things around by going 8-6 in district this season to tie Hanna for third place in 32-6A behind Los Fresnos and Harlingen South. The Rivera girls have returned to the playoffs after a two-year absence.
Prior to the postseason, Rivera’s district record actually became 9-5 because Harlingen High had to forfeit some 32-6A games that benefited Hanna as well.
The Lady Raiders, 10-9-2 overall, are a lot happier these days as they play on a more competitive team and feel more confident about themselves.
“It’s a good feeling because we’re showing everyone that the Rivera girls can play and that we have a good team even though we had a bad season last year,” said Alyssa Ayala, a sophomore attacking midfielder. “We’ve shown that we can rise up and overcome what happened before as underdogs in the district.
“I love how we’re playing,” she added. “ We push each other to do better and we’re playing in sync. We all support each other and treat each other like family. There are a lot of positive vibes on this team.”
Things went from pretty good to even better for the 32-6A fourth-seeded Lady Raiders when they triumphed over District 31-6A champion Edinburg Economedes 3-1 in bi-district last Friday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
“We’ve made it farther than most people thought we would, and I’m so happy about that,” said Viridiana Diaz, a senior defensive midfielder. “At first, we were nervous (going against Economedes) because they were first in their district with no losses (14-0) and we were the fourth-place team with some losses.
“But our coach (Peter A. Rodriguez) told us that even a fourth-place team can beat a first-place team (in the playoffs), and that’s what motivated us,” Diaz added. “He told us to believe in ourselves, we did, and we made it happen (with our bi-district win).”
Next up for the Lady Raiders is a Class 6A area-round matchup against District 29-6A third-place Eagle Pass at 6 p.m. tonight at Roma. Also today at Roma, the Rivera boys play Laredo Alexander in the second half of a playoff doubleheader at 8 p.m.
In all, there are 11 area-round playoff matches on tap today involving teams from the Brownsville area. The only one in Brownsville has the Brownsville Veterans Memorial boys playing host to Corpus Christi Veterans at 8 p.m. at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Rodriguez, the first-year Rivera coach, said he’s done his homework in preparing for Eagle Pass, 12-5-8.
“Everyone that I’ve talked to, including coaches, has said they’re surprised Eagle Pass is in the playoffs as the third-place team from their district,” Rodriguez said. “It’s not very different than us. For us (to win), it depends on which team shows up (and plays well), and that’s what I’ve been telling the girls.
“It’s up to us to make our own destiny,” he added. “We can worry about our opponent and how much talent they might have, but the only thing we can control is how much effort each one of our girls puts forth towards winning. That’s something I’ve tried to emphasize throughout the whole season.”
The Lady Raiders are eager to add to the achievements they’ve already experienced in 2017.
“We’ve made a lot of progress because we’re communicating with each other more and passing the ball more,” said Myrka Guevara, a sophomore midfielder on the wing. “We’ve won our first playoff game and that felt great. Now we feel that we can do more. Winning that playoff game boosted up our motivation.”
Diaz, a team captain and four-year member of the varsity, is one of only three seniors on the squad, so she’s enjoying every minute of her final soccer season at Rivera.
“We didn’t start off the season winning, but Coach Rodriguez has motivated us to play better and has conditioned us by making us run a lot,” Diaz said. “He told us not to worry about what other people might say because it wasn’t going to be the same season as last year.
“He’s told us to never give up, and we haven’t,” Diaz added. “Even if we were losing, he told us we had to play hard every moment. We couldn’t give up. For the sophomores on our team, they still have time, but I’m a senior, so I have to play every game with (all) my heart.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess