Lady Greyhound tune up for district in own tournament

SAN BENITO - With the start of District 32-5A a little more than one week away, the San Benito Lady Greyhounds view their chances in conference with plenty of optimism.

"Every one of these girls has heart, and that's what I like about our team," said Jackie Cruz, a junior forward and two-year starter for the Lady Greyhounds. "To me, heart is more important than talent. You win with heart, not just talent. It's going to be very competitive in district this year, but I feel that we can win."

The Lady Greyhounds are the host team for this weekend's San Benito Girls Dog Pound Tournament, which gives them a chance to put the finishing touches on their squad as it prepares for the most important part of the soccer season. District 32-5A action starts Feb. 7.

"This is the tournament that we usually use to fine-tune our team," said San Benito coach Frank Ibarra, who is assisted by Eddie Gonzalez and Jesus Cardenas. "Some of the things that we've been working on during the preseason, we come out and play in this tournament to make sure that we're clicking and that they're working the way we expect them to work (in district). So, this is basically a fine-tuning tournament for us."

The Lady Greyhounds won all three games in pool play as the Dog Pound Tournament began Friday at San Benito Veterans Memorial Academy. They defeated Grulla 6-0, IDEA of Brownsville 3-0 and Roma "A" 1-0. Chantel Pecina led the way with four goals on the day for San Benito. Teammates Eva Rubio and Cruz each added three.

Pool play continues at VMA at 9 a.m. Saturday before the tournament semifinals and final are played later in the day at Bobby Morrow Stadium. The final is set for 4 p.m.

San Benito defeated Edcouch-Elsa 4-0 in last year's Dog Pound Tournament championship, so the Lady Greyhounds are hoping for another strong showing in the two-day, 10-team event.

"We've been improving by the week," Gonzalez said. "We're going to continue working hard, keep coaching them up, and everything will come."

There are six starters back from the squad that advanced to the playoffs last season as the third-place team from 32-5A. Besides Cruz at forward and Rubio at wing, the other returning starters are Irma Rojas at wing, Gladys Sosa at defensive midfielder, Veronica de Leon at sweeper and Marina Perez at goalkeeper. Natalia Calles is a newcomer to watch.

"We have a young team, but it's a good team," said de Leon, a junior and three-year starter. "I like how we play like a family. Not a lot of teams have that."

Concerning the 32-5A race, Ibarra said, "This year is very tough to predict. We've been looking at the results so far, and it's just been crazy. Teams that we expect to win, lose, and teams we expect to lose, win, so for me to make a prediction on the district, I just can't do it. Last season was a tight district race, and I expect this season to be just as tight. If we work hard, I think we can be in there."

Added Rubio, a junior and two-year starter, "You can expect the unexpected (from us in district)."

Roy Hess writes for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.