By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
At this point of the UIL soccer playoffs, it’s all about taking the next step.
Actually, that next step is a pretty big one.
Eight Rio Grande Valley soccer teams, including three from Brownsville, enter this weekend’s regional tournament competition in San Antonio (Class 6A), Corpus Christi (5A) and McAllen (4A) with an opportunity to qualify for the UIL state tournament next week in Georgetown.
It will take two wins at the regional level to secure a trip to state.
“This is the first time for us to go to regionals and we want to make it count,” said Peter A. Rodriguez, coach of the Rivera Lady Raiders. “Getting to go is wonderful. Hopefully we can make more history up there (in San Antonio) for our program.”
The Rivera girls and boys are two of the four Valley teams playing semifinal matches today at the Region IV-6A Tournament at San Antonio’s Blossom Athletic Center.
Today’s girls games start with Rivera (11-13-5) going against Austin Lake Travis (13-7-4) at 1 p.m. and followed by the McAllen High girls (24-3-1) playing San Antonio Johnson (18-6-1) at 3 p.m.
Later today, the Rivera boys (22-4-4) play San Antonio Lee (16-5-4) at 5 p.m. to be followed by the La Joya Juarez-Lincoln boys (30-5-1) taking on San Antonio Reagan (15-1-7) at 7 p.m.
Today’s winners play in the Region IV-6A finals on Saturday. The girls play at 1 p.m. followed by the boys at 3 p.m. with the winners of Saturday’s matches going to state.
“It’s amazing to be advancing to the next round,” said Rivera’s Ramiro Rodarte, a senior midfielder. “We’re just hoping for the best now.”
There are two Valley boys teams playing today in the semifinals of the Region IV-5A Tournament at Corpus Christi’s Cabaniss Field. They are Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Valley View. No Valley girls teams made it to the event.
In today’s boys matches, Valley View (29-0) plays Marble Falls (17-9-1) at 4:30 p.m. followed by Brownsville Veterans (26-2-3) facing Austin High (14-10-1) at 6:30 p.m. Today’s winners play in the Region IV-5A boys final at 2 p.m. Saturday, which follows the Region IV-5A girls final at noon.
“Of course, any game at the regional tournament is not going to be easy, but we feel like we’re prepared for what’s coming and we hope to go over those rounds (hurdles),” said Juan Amieva, a junior defensive midfielder for Brownsville Veterans. “Apart from being a soccer team, we’re a family (and that motivates us).”
The Region IV-4A Tournament also starts today at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium. No Valley girls teams qualified, but Progreso and Hidalgo made it for the
boys. Today’s semifinal boys schedule has Progreso playing Taylor at 2 p.m. and Hidalgo facing Liberty Hill at 4 p.m. Today’s winners play for a trip to state at noon Saturday.
Of the eight Valley teams involved in regional competition this weekend, only the Rivera girls are new to this level of the postseason.
“It’s so amazing that we’ve made it this far and we’re at this spot,” said Brigette Iglesias, a sophomore attacking midfielder for the Lady Raiders. “All the practice, all the effort, and all the tears and joy (of playing soccer) has helped us reach this point. We’ve made it this far and we feel we’re going to make it big. We’re making history here.
“We have an amazing group,” she added. “If we all work together, we can do this.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess