By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
A remarkable turnaround season in girls soccer has earned All-Metro recognition for the Rivera Lady Raiders.
The Brownsville Herald’s 2017 All-Metro girls team includes Rivera’s Peter A. Rodriguez as Coach of the Year and Ashley Torres as Newcomer of the Year.
In his first season as the Lady Raiders’ head coach, Rodriguez guided Rivera back to the playoffs following a frustrating 0-14 showing in District 32-6A just a year earlier. The Lady Raiders went 11-10-2 overall in 2017, including a 9-5 finish in 32-6A to tie for third place with Hanna.
Torres, a junior forward/attacking midfielder, was an important contributor to the Rivera girls’ success during her first season on the varsity squad. She finished with six goals in six games along with five assists.
Torres’ best goals came at the most opportune times for her team in the playoffs as she scored the second, go-ahead goal in a 3-1 upset of District 31-6A champion Edinburg Economedes in bi-district and then tallied the game-tying goal in a 2-1 area-round victory against Eagle Pass.
The Lady Raiders advanced to the third round of the playoffs this season for the first time before falling 2-0 to 32-6A champion Los Fresnos. They came within one victory of making their first trip to the regional tournament after their last-place district finish of 2016.
Starting in the offseason, Rodriguez’s message to the Lady Raiders was one of believing in themselves, giving their best effort and making it a priority to attend practice every day.
“I talked to them about commitment and also about just focusing on our team and our better qualities rather than (comparing ourselves to) the other teams,” he said. “So effort was a big part of why the team did well. The girls showed commitment, and through that, the effort (they gave enabled them) to play better as the season progressed.”
The Lady Raiders didn’t start off the 2017 season by winning all that much, but by the time 32-6A competition began, things started coming together. They went 8-6 in district and that mark became 9-5 after a forfeit win by Harlingen High.
“It was pretty tough at the beginning of the season, but we managed to come up,” Torres said. “Our coach was always making sure we were there in practice. I was new to the team, but I was aware of the tough background of last season.
“Last year made us want to show everybody what we were (really) made of,” she added. “It made me want to show what I could do. It was such a great feeling (to score those goals). Everything I did was for the team. It was good to put ourselves out there and show that we were going somewhere. We all pushed each other and we made it (happen).”
Receiving her All-Metro newcomer award was great news, Torres said.
“I was very excited to hear I had been nominated for it,” she said. “It means a lot to me. I feel pretty honored to get it.”
Torres said a big reason for the team’s turnaround was Rodriguez.
“He picked us up and believed in us,” she said. “He got us to believe in ourselves and got us on top (and back into the playoffs). Even outside of practice he talked to us to see if we were good or we needed something. Our coach did a really good job.”
Having the girls give a complete effort and play as a team were important keys to Rivera’s success this season, Rodriguez said.
“I wanted girls who would go out there and give their best,” he said. “I always told them I didn’t want the girls who were the best on the field, I wanted the girls who would give me 100 percent all the time, and that’s what happened. Towards the end of the season I had the best 11 out there who were the most committed to the team. That (total commitment) was something I tried to tell the girls (about) every day at every practice.
“I knew that if I wasn’t going to be committed (like I was asking of them), it wasn’t going to work out,” Rodriguez added. “Our offseason was one of rebuilding (attitudes). I tried to be there and help their self-esteem and team chemistry. Getting them motivated was definitely a big part of our season. (When it started happening) the winning wasn’t all that surprising to me because I knew the girls had it in them. Maybe the other teams were more surprised (to see us win) than I was.”
Virtually the same team is expected to return for the Lady Raiders next season. The only key starter graduating is defensive midfielder Viridiana Diaz.
“We’re super hyped about next year,” Torres said. “We’re going to work really hard and make it to the top.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess