By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
DONNA — For those who enjoy watching soccer played in super windy conditions, Donna’s Bennie LaPrade Stadium was the place to be Saturday for a quadruple-header of matches presented by the Rio Grande Valley Soccer Coaches Organization.
The RGVSCO’s 8th annual East-West All-Star Senior Showcase featured boys and girls games for players from Class 6A teams and for competitors from sub-6A squads.
The sun was shining brightly with nary a cloud in the sky and the wind was relentless throughout the day-long event that was capped by the 6A boys match won by the East All-Stars 3-1.
Up 1-0 at intermission, the East went ahead 2-0 just four minutes into the second half when Lopez’s Julio “J.C.” De La Garza blasted in a free kick from midfield against the wind. The ball took a high bounce in front of a surprised West goalkeeper and went over him before settling into the back of the net.
“It felt great just playing my last game here, making new friends on my team and making that goal,” said De La Garza, who figures to be the kicker for the East in next weekend’s Valley all-star football game in Weslaco. “It was pretty good because we only had, like, two weeks of practice, and having this chemistry between us worked out really well.”
Los Fresnos’ Martin Ornelas gave the East a 1-0 advantage by sending a shot into the goal from approximately 25 yards out with 12 minutes left in the first half.
After De La Garza’s long-range tally made it 2-0, Edinburg Economedes’ Omar Puente scored to pull the West to within 2-1 with 12 minutes remaining.
Three minutes later, however, a header into the left corner of the net by Harlingen High’s Adrian Vasquez restored the East’s two-goal lead, making the score 3-1.
The West still maintains an edge of 4-3-1 over the East in the overall series at the RGVSCO’s highest division.
The sub-6A boys game ended with the West prevailing 1-0 on a goal by PSJA Southwest’s Michael Martin just 10 1/2 minutes into the match. The East had a shot go off the crossbar early in the second half. In the RGVSCO all-star matchups at the lower classification, the West now leads the brief series 2-0.
Earlier in the day, the West girls triumphed 4-0 in their 6A match, while the East girls prevailed 3-2 in penalty kicks in a sub-6A game.
The West girls, now 7-1 in their overall series with the East in the upper division, scored a somewhat impressive three goals against the strong wind during the opening half, including a pair of tallies within a one-minute span with a little more than three minutes left before intermission, going ahead 3-0.
Scoring those goals were McAllen Memorial’s Alyssa Adriano, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Jennifer Gonzalez and Mission High’s Patty Mora.
Adriano highlighted the match with two minutes remaining when her corner kick from the left side caught the jet stream and carried into the net for an Olympic goal, increasing the West’s advantage to 4-0.
In the girls sub-6A contest, the score was tied at 1 and then at 2 before being decided by penalties, which ended in the East’s favor 3-2.
Pace’s Zucely Gomez tallied the East’s second goal during regulation on a standout header before teammates Jakita Santillan of Donna High, Amairani Martinez of La Feria and Kelsey Landrum of Rio Hondo converted penalty tries to lift their team to victory. The East girls now lead their series with the West in the lower classification 2-0.
Midway through Saturday’s event, longtime Donna High boys assistant coach Juan Carlos “J.C.” Martinez was honored by RGVSCO and received a plaque of appreciation for his 23 years of helping guide the Redskins in soccer.
Martinez undergoes dialysis three times weekly and is no longer able to coach or work at his job with the school district. He is on unpaid leave. The RGVSCO has set up an account with PlainsCapital Bank to help assist the coach with his mounting medical expenses.
“Life brings you things that you don’t expect, and I really appreciate my fellow coaches doing what they’re doing,” Martinez said. “I would just like to say thank you to them because in the good or the bad, we’re still brothers.”