BY EDWARD SEVERN
Staff Writer
The Hanna Eagles scored 38 goals in District 32-6A play during the 2021-2022 season, and 35 of them came from Ana Barragan.
Barragan is The Brownsville Herald’s 2021-2022 All-Metro Girls Soccer Most Valuable Player. Barragan, bound for Texas A&M University-San Antonio, scored 65 goals in total this season to lead the Lady Eagles to a playoff appearance.
“Being MVP feels really good,” Barragan said. “The hard work paid off. I want to thank everyone for looking at me and seeing how much potential I had.”
Fourth place is a respectable finish in District 32-6A. The Lady Eagles held off Donna North to secure their playoff spot. It was Barragan’s goal that sent Hanna into the playoffs with only two matches remaining at Los Fresnos.
“It was a good season because we made it to the playoffs,” she said. “This was my first year ever making it to the playoffs in high school.”
When asked if Hanna would have made the playoffs if Barragan was not on their side, Hanna coach Eliseo Guzman smiled and said, “It would have been hard.”
“She has been very important player for us,” Guzman said. “Not only as an athlete, but as a person and being part of the team. She helped keep the team together. Sometimes in high school the teams are divided, but she kept the team together.”
Guzman continued to say the girls on the team looked up to Barragan and would worry if the striker might not play the match.
“She is one of the best athletes I had during my whole career,” Guzman said.
Co-Offensive Players of the Year
Vivianna Gutierrez, Brownsville Veterans Memorial and Ashley Esparza, Los Fresnos
Vivianna Gutierrez and Ashley Esparza were two of the most impactful forwards in the Brownsville area this season. Both were deployed in similar roles, as their teams’ offenses flowed through their senior forwards.
Gutierrez, the District 32-5A offensive player of the year, netted 22 goals for the Chargers and was a key distributor on the team in her forward position.
“It is a great honor, I feel proud of myself,” Gutierrez said. “I had a lot of motivation this year to try harder, play a new position, and it worked out for me.”
Gutierrez said the reason she was motivated to step up was college.
Gutierrez played in a more advanced role for the Chargers this season. Previously, the Our Lady of the Lake-bound athlete played deeper in the midfield. Her previous role assisted her ability to play in that more advanced role, Gutierrez said.
“I definitely had a lot more field vision, more than just going forward” she said. “I was able to put in passes, assist more and take it up more.”
Gutierrez said she formed a good forward partnership with teammate Leah Rodriguez and was more confident this year to strike the ball as she doubled her goal tally from the previous season.
“We were kind of underdogs,” she said. “We did pretty good in the end. Could have done better, but I am proud of everyone.”
Esparza, the District 32-6A offensive player of the year, scored 32 goals for Los Fresnos. The Falcons finished second and came out victorious in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
“I am super happy that I was able to get it again,” she said. “It would have kind of sucked if I did not, because people might have been expecting me to get it again or surpass it. So, it is super exciting.”
Esparza was asked to play as the lone striker a majority of the time for the Falcons this season. The striker fell short of reaching her goal tally from the previous season where she eclipsed the 40 mark.
Los Fresnos coach Diego Luna also deployed Esparza on the wing and in the midfield. The Falcons coach praised Esparza’s vision in the midfield as he looked to put his best attacking option in various roles.
“The girls that are coming in learned quite a bit from just watching her play,” Luna said. “They saw how (Esparza) overcomes challenges and was able to score game-in and game-out. It is rare to have that type of player to score like her and push that team over the hill, and that was Ashley.”
Esparza was very thankful to her teammates. She said they meant the world to her and that she will miss them. The striker also thanked her coaches for helping her become the soccer player she is.
Defensive Player of the Year
Ebony Garza, Brownsville Porter
The Cowboys only surrendered three goals during District 32-5A play, all in one game. At the heart of that defense was Garza, District 32-5A’s and The Herald’s All-Metro Defensive Player of the Year.
“It feels amazing, I just hope to make my teammates proud,” Garza said. “Hopefully, I can get it next year and my senior year.”
The sophomore played with her sister, Liberty Garza, a forward on the team and the district’s player of the year.
“I was happy we got to play with each other because we were close already off the field,” Liberty Garza said. “Playing soccer together only brought us closer together, so it was a great last two years.”
Liberty Garza said her sister was a great defender, just a little too aggressive. But that aggressiveness paid off for Garza. The defender led Porter to 13 clean sheets in district play.
“My favorite part of playing defense is when they take my other defender on and I am the last one,” she said. “It feels good to be the last option and take the ball away from the attacker trying to score.”
Garza is thankful for her sister, coaches and teammates and is ready for the next couple of seasons at Porter.
“(Garza) is an awesome player,” Porter coach Abraham Gracia said. “She is a gamer, I have her in Spanish class and as soon as she is done with her work, she is watching film, asking me what she needs to do.”
Goalkeeper of the Year
Janessa Rodriguez, Brownsville Porter
The junior keeper’s first allowed goal was in the area round of the playoffs. Rodriguez was a rock in between the posts for the Cowgirls during District 32-5A championship season.
“Winning the award feels great,” she said. “I feel like I have progressed a lot throughout the years. I have been playing since I was 11 years old. So, it feels good to finally win something.”
The junior missed a good portion of the season and exclusively played district games. Rodriguez was at the JROTC’s Military Ball when Brownsville Veterans shipped three goals past them, the only goals surrendered by Porter in district play.
Rodriguez’s most impressive outing was the bi-district playoff match. With her center backs out, the junior stepped up with big saves to blank Sharyland High. The saves Rodriguez made were physical saves, something she embraces.
“(Rodriguez) was a player that made a big difference on our team,” Gracia said. “We had a solid team, but we were having goalkeeping troubles early on. We lost a couple of games early on because of goalkeeping mistakes. She came in, and they did not score a goal on her in district.”
Newcomer of the Year
Maria Barrientos, Los Fresnos
Maria Barrientos, the District 32-6A newcomer of the year, is also The Herald’s newcomer of the year.
The freshman burst onto the varsity soccer scene by landing a starting spot and finishing the season on the best defense in District 32-6A. The Falcons only gave up four goals in district play.
“It feels really good to receive this award,” she said. “This is really new to me — entering high school I did not think that I would make varsity based on how high the level is — but (Coach Diego) Luna saw me, believed in me and now I am the newcomer of the year.”
Luna had rave reviews for the freshman, so much so that he entrusted her in a pivotal position that received plenty of pressure from great forwards in the district like Harlingen South’s Sarah Garza, Harlingen High’s Maya Quinones and Hanna’s Barragan.
“Maria is a very interesting player,” Luna said. “She is coming in playing like a senior, that is rare to have in a program. I have only seen it once or twice that a freshman is already at a senior level. There were times where I moved players around and she was left by herself in the defense, and she did an outstanding job.”
Los Fresnos kept 10 clean sheets in district play this season.
“(Barrientos) got a lot of experience against good talent all over the state of Texas,” Luna said. “I am excited to see how she is going to develop with us and her club teams. We will see how that helps her out and see how she does on a weekly basis. She is a blessing to have, and I am excited to see how she grows.”
Barrientos recently joined Classic Elite. Previously, the freshman played with a boys club team where she was a captain and will again play with this summer. Barrientos hopes to be a captain at Los Fresnos one day.
“I am excited to play again with the team, the new members of the team and the upcoming freshmen,” she said. “The biggest thing I learned this year was not to give up.”
Coach of the Year
Juan Acosta, IDEA Riverview
No team had a more impressive turnaround than IDEA Riverview. The Rockets languished at the bottom of District 32-4A the past couple of seasons.
Led by Acosta, Riverview, flipped the script and finished as an undefeated district champion, and also captured a first-round playoff victory. Acosta is The Herald’s coach of the year.
“It is a great and unexpected honor,” Acosta said. “I never expected to be the coach of the year. It feels amazing because I was able to coach a sport that I loved. My goal was just to be happy and be involved in a sport that I love.”
Acosta said his favorite moments of the season came on the bus ride home after big victories. The team would listen to music and celebrate being able to see its hard work pay off.
“I could not have done it without my assistant coach, Mario Lopez,” he said. “He was a great help. Also, my athletic director Albert Perez, he helped us with whatever we needed, and of course the players, they did everything. It was all them.”
