HARLINGEN — When Harlingen High head coach Joey Johnson took over the boys soccer program last season, he was dealt with a tall task.
The Cardinals hadn’t experienced much success prior to Johnson’s arrival, with their number of playoff appearances since 2000 able to be counted on one hand.
Johnson’s first year was much of the same, with the Cardinals finishing seventh in the standings with a 2-9-3 overall record and missing the playoffs once again.
This year, however, the Cardinals are soaring, qualifying for the postseason for just the fifth time since 2000 and the first time since 2018 with a 3-0 victory over San Benito on Friday.
“I’ve been harping to these guys in a joking way but not really that I’m tired of Harlingen being known as a football and girls soccer school,” Johnson said. “I want this program to be mentioned in the same breath as the football program. I’ve been around it and I’ve seen the success they’ve had. The new standard around here for Harlingen soccer has to be playoffs or bust. We started by getting our foot in the door. Now we have to aim higher and higher every year until district titles and state comes along with it.”
The Cardinals loaded up their non-district schedule with playoff programs from across the Valley this season, taking on 31-6A’s Edinburg Economedes, Edinburg High, Edinburg North and La Joya High to prepare for possible first round matchups.
Harlingen High’s pre-district slate also included tilts against Brownsville Porter, Brownsville Lopez and Valley View, picking up wins over the Cowboys and Tigers while dropping a close one to the Lobos.
“I think we had the perfect non-district schedule,” Harlingen High goalkeeper Juan Zapata said. “We found mistakes we needed to fix and were able to go against tough teams to get ready for district. The mentality and the way we wanted it has changed. We are going after it. The morale is up way more than it was last year.”
The non-district slate helped the team build confidence heading into district play, buying into the program and believing they could play with anyone.
Their shootout victory over Brownsville Hanna last Tuesday was a testimony to the team’s growth, battling back from a two-goal halftime deficit to tie the game and send it the penalty kicks. The Cardinals picked up the win in the shootout.
“I feel like we’ve been working as a team now,” Harlingen High senior Damian Jaure said. “The work ethic changed. We wanted it more. Last year didn’t go the way we wanted, and we didn’t want it to happen again.”
Just two games remain in the regular season, with the Cardinals still in contention for the No. 2 seed if things fall their way. They currently sit in third in the standings at 4-3-1, with their shootout victory over Brownsville Hanna the difference between the two teams.
Regardless of the outcome of their final two games, however, Harlingen High’s season will continue for at least another game following Friday’s district conclusion.
“From now on getting to the playoffs should be standard at Harlingen going forward,” senior defender Ty Carrera said. “Our next goal is to go as far as we can. We got the opportunity to keep playing. Now it’s about seeing how far we can go.”
Harlingen High continues district play at 5:30 p.m. today against Brownsville Rivera at Rivera before closing out the regular season against Los Fresnos at 5:30 p.m. Friday at home.
CROWNED
While the Cardinals clinched a playoff berth, others captured the district titles in their respective districts last week.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s reign atop the standings continued despite dropping from Class 6A to 5A this season, capturing their seventh straight district championship with a pair of wins last week.
The Huskies have cruised through the competition in District 30-5A this year, outscoring their opponents 69-7 en route to a 12-0-0 mark with just two regular season games remaining.
Brownsville Jubilee also netted the title outright last week, their third in the last four years. The Titans were near perfect during their run to the championship, finishing the regular season with a 13-1 mark in district play, bringing their district record to 44-8 over the past four seasons.
Brownsville Rivera clinched at least a share of the district title with a pair of wins last week, moving to 8-0-0 in district heading into this week’s finale. The Raiders can clinch the outright title with a win over Harlingen High on Tuesday.
HEATING UP
The race for the playoffs is heating up with just a week and a half remaining in the regular season.
In 30-5A, three of the four available spots have been secured, with Laredo Martin and Roma battling for the final berth.
The race is much tighter in 31-5A, with only two of the four berths secured by McAllen High and Valley View. Five teams are still in the running for the remaining two spots, with Sharyland High and PSJA Southwest in the best position to secure them.
PSJA Memorial, McAllen Rowe and PSJA North all remain in the hunt, needing wins and some help to get into the dance.
District 32-5A is just as tight, with only Brownsville Porter and Brownsville Lopez locking in a postseason berths.
Donna North and Brownsville Veterans currently sit in third and fourth, respectively, with Harlingen South, Brownsville Pace, Weslaco East and Donna High’s playoff hopes hanging by a thread.
In Class 4A, nine of the 12 available spots have been filled, with each of the Valley’s three 4A districts having just one spot remaining.
For full standings and schedule, visit RGVSports.com.
