Sharyland High wins second straight BISD tournament title

1 day ago 39

BROWNSVILLE — Sharyland High head coach Mario Ribera said his team enjoys playing at the Brownsville ISD tournament, he praised the facilities, the set up and competition as his Rattlers have now won back-to-back BISD tourney titles with a 1-0 victory over Weslaco High.

The Rattlers came from behind to beat Brownsville Porter in the semis to set up the meeting with Weslaco High at Brownsville Lopez after the Panthers took care of La Joya High in their semifinal.

The Panthers had a chance in the final seconds to force a penalty shootout, but the opportunity inside the box went just over the crossbar. The ref looked at his watch immediately after and blew his final whistle.

“The girls have played beautiful, especially this morning, we really played the way we practice, passing and possession — we expected to be back-to-back champions,” Ribera said.

The Rattlers enjoyed moments of possession, but the Panthers did well at making it messy in the midfield at times and were able to create some half chances, just needed to be a little more poised in the final third.

Sharyland High was the better team and scored its winner early in the match when senior playmaker Rachel Andaverdi found space in the box following a corner from senior Yezleen Pena.

Andaverdi took it on the volley with her right foot to give her team the early first-half lead.

“I was thinking she going to play it short, and I was in the right position at the right time — all I had to do was shoot it,” Andaverdi said.

The senior said she likes taking up those positions in the box and being an attacking presence on set pieces.

Andaverdi’s near-post gamble paid off and was the difference in a match between to possible playoff teams, the Panthers in Class 6A and the Rattlers in 5A with district play starting during the next couple of weeks.

The Rattlers were pretty ecstatic about winning back-to-back titles, especially against some competition that they could possibly face in the playoffs. Sharyland High knows this is just preseason and will have its worked cut out for them in probably the most competitive district in the Valley, District 31-5A.

“We have it difficult, but this is going to help. This is a boost for them to start believing, especially the younger ones. We have some young talent … hopefully the momentum carries over to our first game in district,” Ribera said.

The Panthers finished dead last in District 32-6A to end the 21-22 season, since then Weslaco High girls soccer has been on the up with two third place finishes and back-to-back bi-district playoff wins.

Weslaco High moves to District 31-6A where they could be competing for a district title.

Silver Bracket Championship

Donna North won the silver bracket title at the BISD tournament, in the match before the gold bracket title.

The Chiefs beat Brownsville Rivera in penalty kicks to seal the victory with senior goal keeper Michelle Maldonado coming up with two saves in the shootout.

“We have been working hard,” Maldonado said. “Helping my teammates win this game, was the best. It was a good feeling.”

Maldonado understands that it might come down to her making a save during district penalty shootouts to give her a team a valuable extra point.

The meeting on Saturday between Brownsville Rivera and Donna North is a District 32-5A preview with both teams not being able to find the back of the net during normal time. When they play in district it could come down to a shootout to decide who will have two points or just one in what should be a wide-open race for the district title.

The post Sharyland High wins second straight BISD tournament title appeared first on MyRGV.com.

Read Entire Article