Corner Kicks: The Cards' secret to success
We're nearing the halfway mark of district play for most soccer teams in the Valley and there will be some pretty interesting games on the slate.
Tonight at Cardinal Stadium, Harlingen, which is tied for first in District 31-5A with Edinburg Econ-omedes, will play host to PSJA Memorial.
Both Harlingen and Economedes have 15 points and PSJA Memorial has 12.
Longtime Harlingen head coach Bobby Lucio says the secret to the Cardinals success is simple.
"We've been playing good defense," he said.
The Cardinals have only allowed six goals in their six district games so far, which ties them for the district's best defensive mark with the Jaguars. Both teams are 5-1 with Memorial slotting in behind at 4-2.
Harlingen has a solid goalkeeper in Marco Herrera and Ted Snavely and David Bazan have solidified the central defense.
"Our mindset is to shut people down," Lucio said.
Harlingen will be without Snavely as well as influential midfielder Octavio Herrera, who is currently in Argentina with his age-group ODP team.
"Everybody has to reshuffle," said Lucio.
It always seems that Harlingen has somebody who can make the long throw-in. In years past it was Johnny Guillen. This is its Patric Oxford.
"Having Patric gives us a different dimension." said Lucio. "He's so acrobatic."
Tonight's games might go away in sorting out the playoff race in District 31-5A as Economedes plays host to Edinburg North, which also has 12 points.
MOVING ON UP: Former Harlingen South standout Kayla Davis, who moved to California after her sophomore season, will play Division I soccer at the University of Wyoming. She's one of five signees for Wyoming head coach Anne Moore.
"Kayla's biggest attribute is her skill and her field awareness," Moore said. "She is a fierce competitor and very intelligent with the ball."
GOALS GALORE: Here are at Corner Kicks, we love goals; we love goals almost as much as Vince Lombardistone loves all-you-can-eat buffets.
So without further ado, here are the latest notable scoring adventures for Valley teams.
The Roma boys beat Raymondville, 11-1, and got eight names on the score sheet - (Eddie Moreno 2, Joel Chavez 2 and solo efforts from Oscar Pompa, Juan Sanchez, Jaime Cano, Alberto Alaniz, Jaime Barrera and Raul Sanchez.
This week's golden boot goes to Myra Solis of La Joya, who found the back of the net four times in the Lady Coyotes' 6-0 victory against Rio Grande City.
Paul Conatzer covers soccer for the Valley Morning Star. You can contact him at paulc@valleystar.com or at 956-430-6286. Coaches are urged to call in results and nominees for the golden boot.
