TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
HIDALGO — Both Valley View and Weslaco East won the upstate tournaments they played in last weekende. Significant championships in Brenham and Corpus Christi, no doubt.
Playing strong non-district schedules is what the best Valley teams to do. And if it means driving up a few hundred miles and running through a gauntlet of games, then that’s what they do.
But Tuesday night on Valley View’s blue turf, it was the Tigers that felt fresh and rejuvenated, and they rode that energy to a decisive 3-1 non-district win over the visiting Wildcats.
Valley View could have scored several more goals as it had an unofficial 24 shots on goal — 15 in the second half alone. The Tigers’ performance was dominant, and if not for a few inches here and there on goal kicks, the score would have better reflected the game.
“There are no excuses. We knew Valley View had a good team, and we had to shut them down, and we did for while, but the fatigue factor took its toll,” Weslaco East coach David Castro said. “They have so many talented players. It was just wave after wave.”
Indeed it was, and it started and ended with Fermin Hernandez’s goals. The first just 15 minutes into the match off a corner kick. After the ball ricocheted off the Weslaco East goalie, Hernandez cleaned up the mess with a quick kick into the back of the net.
Valley View’s next score came off the foot of Damian Magallan at the 34:04 mark of the second half. Up until then, the Tigers had come so frustratingly close on so many chances. The game was tied 1-1 when Magallan’s penalty kick beat the goalie for the go-ahead score.
Sixteen minutes later, Hernandez scored his second goal of the night with beautiful header off an airy corner kick that found him centered perfectly.
“We played aggressively the entire game and you have to against an opponent like this,” Hernandez said. “We have played together since we were little kids, so we know our movements and where we are going to be on the field.”
Going up 3-1 cemented the game for Valley View as Weslaco East could do little to move the ball in the second half. The Wildcats rarely got the ball across the half line. Valley View coach Damian Magallan said he expects his team to perform at its best every time out.
“We got more chances than what we thought we’d get, but our guys worked hard to create the plays they got, and that was the result we received,” Magallan said. “This result was in part because of the experience we have gotten from going to those (upstate) tournaments.”
Magallan said he often tells Valley View’s administrators that in order for the team to get better, it has to travel to big tournaments outside the Valley. It’s critical to the Tigers’ success, he said.
“We don’t just want to stop at district,” he said. “Our purpose is to get to and win the state championship. We’ve knocked on the door twice, and we haven’t been able to win it. But, God willing, maybe this third time we can achieve the championship.”