By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
It wasn’t such a great start to the soccer season for the Lopez Lobos in 2017, but after much improvement, their finish was marked by a return to the UIL state tournament.
After giving up five goals in two separate early season games back in January, the Lobos certainly didn’t look anything like a team capable of making it back to the state tournament where they had ended their 2016 season.
But as with any sport, the season becomes a journey and a process of getting better, and so it was for the Lobos. They steadily improved, particularly on defense, and emerged from highly competitive District 32-5A as the team advancing to Georgetown in April for a Rio Grande Valley-record fifth time.
For their efforts of raising their level of play and strong surge in returning to state, the Lobos have received three top spots on The Brownsville Herald’s 2017 All-Metro Boys Soccer Team.
Those honorees are MVP Jose “Chevy” Echevarria, Coach of the Year Amadeo Escandon and Utility Player of the Year Roberto “Penny” Pereira.
“Honestly, I think I was one of the few people who actually expected that we could do what we did,” said Escandon, who just completed his 20th season of guiding the Lobos. “It took us a while to show it, but the coaches knew we had a good team. Historically, that’s how the season goes for us at Lopez. We focus more on doing well in our district and in the playoffs.
“I see this season as coming through the way we expected and planned it,” added Escandon, who before this season was last named All-Metro coach in 2014. “Obviously, we had a lot of things go in our favor (in getting back to state). The players bought into the system and believed in the coaches and what we’re trying to do.
“By the time the playoffs came, we were peaking at just the right time — not only in the soccer sense (on the field), but also outside of soccer as the players voluntarily attended religion classes with 99 percent attendance and it boosted their faith. We’ve always said at Lopez that God is first for us.”
Mainly due to injuries on the team, Pereira, a senior, received a chance to play all over the field for the Lobos in 2017. He began the season as a forward, went to the midfield when a teammate got hurt and wound up as a vital defender in the playoffs whose assignment was to shadow and neutralize the opponent’s fastest scoring threat.
“I had a tough season finding my (true) position and I ended up being a defender,” said Pereira, a two-year member of the varsity. “It means a lot (to be named the All-Metro utility player) and thank you to everyone who has supported me all season long.
“We had a lot of chemistry between each other on this team and a lot of faith,” he added. “We trusted in each other and knew we could do it.”
Pereira said the team’s success can traced to the direction provided by the Lopez coaching staff.
“Our coaches do a great job,” he said. “They trusted me as a defender and in the midfield. I ended up playing defense because they saw that I played better there. When I look back at playing for Lopez, it’s just going to be (a lot of good) memories.”
Added Escandon, “Wherever we put ‘Penny,’ he delivered. Most of the season he played in the midfield, but we noticed we needed a fast defender on the side and that’s where we put him for the last two district games and through the playoffs. Nobody got through him. Wherever we put him, he responded.”
Escandon guided Lopez to the Class 4A state title in 2004 and a Class 5A state runner-up finish in 2009. The Lobos’ other trips to state came in 2014, 2016 and 2017. This year the Lobos finished third in 32-5A and wound up with a 17-5-6 overall record after winning five times in the playoffs.
“I’m happy to see our guys get these awards,” the Lopez coach said. “It’s a testament to what they do on and off the field. I think these type of awards go to not only good players, but also to good people.
“(To be named coach of the year) means I put our season in God’s hands and He delievered,” Escandon added. “It’s a testament to the players and the assistant coaches. It’s not just me. If I get an award, it’s for them and all they do. We expect a lot of things from them as players and a lot from them as (upstanding) human beings also.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess