By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The soccer season hasn’t ended exactly the way the Harlingen High Cardinals originally envisioned.
Still, they finished the regular season on a high note Tuesday with a win at Brownsville Rivera, the District 32-6A champion.
The Cardinals prevailed 1-0 (4-2) in penalty kicks on a rainy night in Brownsville.
After having qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 10 years last season, there were expectations of making a return trip to the postseason in 2019. But multiple injuries early in the season were a factor working against the Cardinals.
Still, there were some highlights in district action. The Cardinals won 1-0 at Brownsville Hanna on Feb. 5. Another highlight was Tuesday’s victory against the Raiders.
Scoring goals for the Cardinals in the penalty kicks on Tuesday were Jacob Garza, Jesus Berlanga, Lorenzo Rodriguez and Ruben Contreras.
It was a scoreless match through 100 minutes of regulation and overtime play until the game went to PKs to determine a winner.
“It was a good way to finish the year,” Cardinals coach Johnny Guillen said. “The guys played hard every game. They found a way to finish strong the last game.”
32-6A UPDATE
Here are the final District 32-6A boys standings: Brownsville Rivera (7-3, 22 points), Harlingen South (6-4, 18 points), Brownsville Hanna (5-5, 16 points), San Benito (5-5, 14 points), Los Fresnos (4-6, 11 points) and Harlingen High (3-7, nine points).
Boys playoff qualifiers: Rivera, South, Hanna and San Benito.
Here are the final 32-6A girls standings: Los Fresnos (9-1, 26 points), Harlingen South (8-2, 25 points), Hanna (6-4, 17 points), Harlingen High (4-6, 12 points), Rivera (3-7, 10 points) and San Benito (0-10, no points).
Girls playoff qualifiers: Los Fresnos, South, Hanna and Harlingen High.
BI-DISTRICT MATCHUPS
Playoff matchups are being finalized as the postseason draws closer and starts March 28.
One of the first bi-district matchups to be determined is a boys game. The San Benito Greyhounds, fourth-place finishers in 32-6A, will play host to the District 31-6A champion Donna North Chiefs at 7 p.m. March 28, which is a Thursday.
Besides San Benito vs. Donna North, other bi-district pairings between the boys from 32-6A and 31-6A are expected to be South vs. Edinburg Economedes and Hanna vs. Edinburg High. Rivera’s opponent is Edinburg North. South will play host to Economedes at 7 p.m. March 29.
For the girls from 32-6A and 31-6A, the bi-district pairings are expected to be Los Fresnos vs. Edinburg High, South vs. Donna North, Harlingen High vs. Edinburg North and Hanna vs. Edinburg Vela.
32-4A OUTLOOK
Playoff qualifiers are also being determined in District 32-4A, which has one date left for conference competition on Friday.
For the boys, Port Isabel and Raymondville are definitely in the postseason with La Feria, Brownsville IDEA Frontier and Monte Alto in the hunt for the district’s other two playoff berths. Port Isabel has clinched the outright 32-4A title.
For the girls, La Feria, Lyford, Port Isabel and possibly Rio Hondo figure to be the playoff qualifiers. La Feria and Lyford are the top two finishers in 32-4A for the girls with Port Isabel taking third place.