Palmview gets tough, seeks first bi-district win for girls soccer

1 month ago 57

(This is the first installment of girls high school soccer previews of some teams heading to the playoffs.)

Finesse is not going to win a championship in District 30-5A.

Ever since La Joya Juarez-Lincoln dropped to Class 5A and brought its super aggressive, physical, not-scared-to-run-through-a-cement-wall (or anyone in front of it) mentality and style of play, it was automatically predicted to be runaway district champs moving forward.

So, other teams took that as a challenge and a way to battle back — if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Mission Veterans and Palmview are two of those teams receiving the benefits – Vets won the District 30-5A title this season – its third in four seasons, while Palmview (10-2-1 in District 30-5A) clinched second place. The Lobos now have their eyes set on winning their first bi-district playoff match in program history. Vets and Palmview split their two district matches, each one winning a game 1-0.

“Our first objective of this season was to win district,” head coach Daniel Malacara said. “We knew it would be tough with Juarez and Vets, but that was our first goal. Now, our goal is to try and win our first bi-district playoff match in school history.”

Palmview hosts Laredo Cigarroa at 7:30 tonight for senior night. Leading that procession the same way as she has led the Lobos the past three years will be Valerie Morales.

Morales is an offensive whirlwind, whose numbers are impressive — even moreso due to her history. She played her freshman year at Juarez-Lincoln before transferring to Palmview. She surpassed the 100-goal mark overall earlier this year and is two goals away from reaching 100 at Palmview alone. What’s more impressive is she missed half of her sophomore season with health issues and missed three this season, again due to health concerns. Overall, the senior striker has 128 goals for her career — 32 this season just in district play.

The Lobos’ 5-3 win over Juarez-Lincoln on Tuesday was special for Morales, whose close and longtime friend Samantha Jimenez plays for the Huskies. Both Morales and Jimenez scored three goals for their respective teams. Jimenez has 30 goals in district play, second behind Morales, who leads District 30-5A scorers with one game to go

“I am very motivated to get past bi-district. Sadly, we couldn’t win that district title but we’re motivated to make history for Palmview,” Morales said. “It felt really good to beat Juarez (5-3 on Tuesday) because they beat us the first time, we beat them the second round and clinched second place by doing it. Sam and have been really good friends … but I can’t let her win, obviously.”

“I’ve been working harder for myself and have learned to be more humble over the years,” she added. “You can’t let things get to you. There’s going to be haters and stuff like that, you just need to ignore it and you do you.”

Malacara said not only is Morales a superstar on the field, but she also plays motivator and brings about a team unity where the rest of team wants to perform for her.

“Shes just simply the best, the heart and soul of this team,” Malacara said. “She is the one that makes everybody better and raises her game to a different level. The girls just want to do their best for her; they raise their intensity by the way she motivates the girls.

“She’s the complete player with heart and determination that the girls all pick up on. We’re still going to practice and push and maybe push a little harder. We want to be the first to win a playoff game for Palmview girls soccer.”