By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Port Isabel Tarpons are fielding a district championship-caliber team this soccer season.
With two games remaining on the District 32-4A schedule, the Tarpons have clinched at least a tie for the conference crown with a 9-1 record and 27 points.
The Tarpons close out their district schedule March 19 at home against Monte Alto and March 22 at Brownsville IDEA Frontier. The Class 4A playoffs start March 28.
The win to secure at least a share of the 32-4A crown came Friday at Rio Hondo. The Tarpons led the Bobcats 3-0 at halftime and won 4-0 with Carlos Noriega scoring two goals. Teammates Josue Avila and Christopher Mosqueda each added one.
“Our guys just fight, and they don’t give up,” said Tarpons coach Josh Kirton, who is in his first season guiding the team. “Anytime they face some adversity, they dig deep and find a way to win. We’ve had several games this season where teams have matched up to our level or we’ve kind of dropped down to their level, but our guys have found a way to win.
“For us, that’s a good sign,” Kirton added. “It’s the sign of a championship team. Sometimes you might not play well but you find a way to win, and that’s what our players have been able to do. These guys work their socks off. They’re at practice and they work hard. It shows in the games. I’m super proud of where we’ve come from since (the first day of practice on) Nov. 26.”
This season marks Port Isabel’s third district title in boys soccer. The Tarpons won an outright district championship in 2011 and shared one with Progreso in 2016. The boys soccer program at Port Isabel began in 2002.
“I’m very proud of my team because it’s a team that plays hard and battles all the time,” said Adrian Mendoza, Port Isabel’s senior goalkeeper and team captain. “We play together and play like a team. I see the guys playing like a family. There’s a lot of teamwork.
“We want to go for a state championship,” he added. “Why not?”
Besides Mendoza at goalkeeper, other members of the starting lineup are defenders Carlos Portales, Angel Fernandez, Carlos Gonzalez and Johan Monroy, midfielders Alan Hernandez, Erik Espindola and Axel Parrazal, and forwards Mosqueda, Avila and Angel Sarabia.
Helping out off the bench are Noriega, Mariano Romero, Marcos Peralta, Yeondris Marquez, Luis Gonzalez, Jonathan Nieto and Jimmy Fernandez, who is the backup goalkeeper.
Along with Mendoza, Angel Fernandez is a team captain.
“I like how we’ve all worked together and worked hard to get here (to the district title),” said Angel Fernandez, a sophomore defender/midfielder. “Winning district means a lot. For the seniors, we want to make it a really good season for their last year. We just want to keep playing hard to get to where we want to go and then keep playing even harder.”
For a senior like Mosqueda, playing on the soccer team this season is quite rewarding.
“We’ve put (every drop of) blood, sweat and tears into this team,” Mosqueda said. “It’s our team. For us to make it up to where we are now, it’s a big step forward (for the program).
“It’s very important to me (that we do well) in my last year,” Mosqueda added. “We’re all family, and I want to do well with my fellow teammates.”