Rivera beats rival for Hidalgo/Valley View title

HIDALGO — Brownsville Rivera coach Salvador Garcia might have a point when he says that District 32-5A might not only be the best district in the Valley, but in the entire state.

Rivera edged out sister school Brownsville Pace 2-0 to claim the 8th annual Hidalgo/Valley View soccer tournament Saturday night at Bill Pate Stadium.

This weekend, District 32-5A’s Porter won a tournament in San Antonio, while San Benito and Brownsville Hanna each placed second at the Pat Leal Tournament and a San Antonio tournament, respectively.

The No.4 Raiders added a championship of their own at Hidalgo’s blue turf, so there’s no denying the strength of the district.

"The fact that Porter won in San Antonio, Hanna (won) second place in Corpus Christi, San Benito (placed second) in McAllen, 32-5A is probably the strongest district in the state," Garcia said.

"It shows we can compete, and if we play our type of game, we can win any game. We have what it takes to compete in our district."

Though Hidalgo is at least an hour-long drive, it wasn’t too far to quickly stage a rematch of last week’s Vikings win over the Raiders in a consolation match of the Brownsville tournament.

Garcia joked about them being awarded a medal for simply competing at the Brownsville tournament, but whether the Vikings beat the Raiders in a friendly match or just a shootaround, a loss is still a loss, and any match is for bragging rights.

"Like I told the kids last weekend, take it as a non-district game," Garcia said. "But it’s hard because we’re both from the same city. Any time two Brownsville teams play, there’s no friendly games. Even though I told them last week that they tend to put an extra effort. We know it’s just a non-district game, but we expect the same type of battle as in district games."

Luis Lopez flicked the ball over the incoming keeper and simply followed through for the Raiders’ first goal seven minutes into the game and assisted the Raiders’ second goal eight minutes later.

Garcia said Lopez’s level of play in the tournament elevated as the games progressed, which he said helped get his confidence back from last year.

"(Winning) was very special," Lopez said. "It’s our first championship of the season, and winning it with those guys, it’s a pretty special feeling and it will get us some confidence heading into district (play)."