MERCEDES — Tied at 1 with the Brownsville Porter Cowboys at the end of regulation, Valley View Tigers head coach Gerardo Salazar told his team what was going to happen — they were going to score quick, defend harder than ever and go to state.
Three minutes into the first overtime period, Tigers junior forward Pablo Torre drew the attention of three Cowboys defenders.
Without hesitation, Torre tapped the ball over to a wide open Ever Arredondo, who wound up and put the ball through the back of the net for the game-winning goal, as the Tigers held off the Cowboys 2-1 in the Region IV-5A final Friday night at Tiger Stadium.
“I can’t say anything,” Tigers head coach Gerardo Salazar said. “They have the heart of a tiger. It was all a team effort. I called it though. I told them it was going to be 2-1 and that we were going to overtime. I told them right before we went into overtime that we were going to score in the first four minutes and then defend like we’ve never defended before and that’s going to take us to state. And, well, that is what we did.”
Following a goal off a penalty kick by Torre, Cowboys midfielder Alessandro Lara fired a shot toward the net from 55 yards, the ball gliding past the fingertips of Tigers goalkeeper Magdiel Quintero and into the net to even the score going into halftime.
Salazar inserted senior Ivan Camacho in goal for the second half.
In his first playoff action this year, Camacho made his presence felt quickly, coming up with back-to-back saves 17 minutes into the second half to keep the game tied.
“They had confidence in me,” Camacho said. “I didn’t get to play in the other playoff games, so I kept that in my head. It’s my last year, so I wanted to leave it all on the field. I wanted to give it all for my team. I knew if they were putting me in, it’s because they believed in me. And I made sure they were right.”
Camacho’s biggest play came with 2:53 left in the final overtime period, with the senior goalkeeper laying out his body on a diving save, helping the Tigers punch their ticket to the Class 5A state semifinals.
“I saw it when we were warming up,” Salazar said. “I saw that our senior (Camacho) was more focused. I wanted to make the move, but they said to stick with the guys who have been pulling for us. I think he (Camacho) took us to state.”
With that, the Cowboys finish their season with a 20-5-1 overall record, including a return to the regional finals for the first time in five years.
“We felt that with the quarantine and everything, the team was peaking at the right moment,” Cowboys head coach Jose Espitia said. “I think today, we dominated the whole game. The kids played a heck of a game. With our respects to Valley View, I feel like our kids wiped them off the field. Unfortunately for us, the balls didn’t go in. But I am very happy with our kids and their performance. When Porter shows up, Porter comes to play soccer. Today was not the exception.”
Meanwhile, the Tigers advance to the state tournament for the third time in four years, taking on the Kingwood Park Panthers, according to the UIL boys soccer brackets, at a time, date and location yet to be determined.