BROWNSVILLE — Weslaco East’s philosophy on corner kicks is simple — hunt the ball. It is something the Wildcats practice and preach regularly.
When the opportunity arose Friday, that is exactly what Erick Valdez did.
On the Wildcats’ first corner kick of the night, Anderson De Leon crossed a perfect ball into the box, with Valdez soaring and delivering a strike on a bicycle kick for the go-ahead goal to set the tone during the Wildcats’ 2-0 victory over the Brownsville Veterans Chargers in a District 32-5A contest at Chargers stadium in Brownsville.
“Those goals on corner kicks are made through practice,” De Leon said. “Here, during games, we just come out and do it.”
“That is what we work on in practice,” Valdez added. “We have a lot of confidence in our corner kicks to the center. At the end of the day, whether one goal or two, the only thing that matters to us is picking up those three points in the standings.”
Valdez’s first-half goal was the first of two for the defender, who added another during the second half. With 28 minutes remaining, De Leon crossed the ball into the box on another corner kick, with Valdez finishing it with his head to make it 2-0.
“It is a mixture of practice and things landing in the right spot,” Weslaco East head coach Robbie Contreras said. “The kids have been working hard. The practice they’ve put in and the studying they do, it is showing in the games. The reality is those are the opportunities that we had. We have to take advantage of whatever we can. Whoever is hungry enough to get the ball is going to go after it. We have to hunt the ball. When you’re in that situation, you’re going to score. That is what we tell the kids. Erick did that tonight.”
Defensively, the Wildcats continued their dominant start to district play, pitching their fourth shutout of the year. Valdez made his presence felt on the defensive side as well, helping anchor Weslaco East’s back line, which made it difficult for the Chargers to create space inside the box.
“That is Weslaco East soccer,” De Leon said. “That is how we play. We don’t care about how many goals we score. We just carry about the points in the standings. Defense is everything. We’re not going to let you score goals. That is one thing we won’t do.”
The victory moves the Wildcats to 3-1-1 on the year, tied for third with Donna North with 10 points each. The Chargers drop to 2-2-1, sitting fifth in the standings with eight points.
The Chargers return to action at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, taking on Donna North (2-0-3) at Donna North. The Wildcats prepare to host the Mercedes Tigers (1-4-0) at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
