Rivera’s Alex Rios tops All-Valley boys team

When talking about boys soccer in the Rio Grande Valley, the first place to start is always Brownsville.

After all, the city has produced teams that have reached the state tournament for four of the past five years.

And while no Brownsville team earned a trip to the state tournament this season, it didn't mean the city didn't play a big role in Valley soccer this year.

Rivera forward Alex Rios has been a consistent goal scorer for the Raiders. He scored 17 goals in District 32-5A play as the Raiders captured the loop crown. He is the MVP for the 2008 VMS All-Valley boys' soccer team.

He will also play at the next level as he will attend Graceland University in Iowa.

"This is an opportunity for Alex to go to college through soccer, so it's great," Rivera boys soccer coach Salvador Garcia said. "As a coach, this is something you look forward to the most."

Graceland assistant coach Angel Monroy is looking forward to getting Rios on campus.

"Alex is a very strong player with a good reputation in the Valley," Monroy said in an interview the Brownsville Herald. "We've had good success recruiting players from this area in the past. We got to see a video of Alex and it was very impressive.

"We think that he can fit right into the program at the level we play," he added. "Hopefully, once we get him up there, he would actually make an impact, I think, even as a freshman."

Joining Rios as the superlatives for the team are Harlingen's Octavio Herrera, who is the Offensive Player of the Year; La Joya's Salvador Fraye, who is the Defensive Player of the Year and helped guide the Coyotes to the regional semifinals. Sergio Romero of Mission Veterans is the Newcomer of the Year.

Lopez's Amadeo Escandon is the Coach of the Year as he guided the Lobos to the regional semifinals.

Harlingen's Herrera didn't score a lot of goals, but his influence on the pitch was obvious to anybody who saw him play.

"He does all the little things well," said Harlingen coach Bobby Lucio.

Lucio said Herrera's work with the Under-17 U.S. National Team makes a big difference.

"He's an international player and he's like having a coach on the field, but he's not big-headed. He's got such vision."

One of Herrera's best attributes is his ability to take on defenders and beat them.

"He draws defenders to him, but he's not selfish. He's an international player and he plays some great balls," Lucio said.

The forwards on the first team are Mario Perez of Brownsville Porter; Ernesto Adriano of Economedes and Omar Mena, Valley View.

In midfield are Kendor Vasquez of Lopez; Fernando Mendoza of La Joya and Humberto Saenz of McAllen.

The back four are: Marco Vasquez of Brownsville Porter; Marco Guevara of Lopez; Julio Perez of Economedes and Harlingen's Julian Garcia.

The goalkeeper is Tony Lopez of Brownsville Rivera.