PHARR — The Brownsville Porter Cowboys scored a pair of second-half goals to power past PSJA North 3-0 in their Region IV-5A bi-district playoff game Tuesday at PSJA North High School and propel themselves into the area round.
Brownsville Porter will meet Corpus Christi Flour Bluff in Round 2. Game details are to be determined.
“Once the second half came in, we knew it was about controlling the tempo, controlling the ball, passing the ball and looking for another opportunity to counterattack,” Porter head coach Jose Espita said. “We’re very proud of our boys. It wasn’t easy considering the time we’ve been without playing, but they came out and took care of business.”
Porter’s Kevin Segura got the scoring started in the 27th minute after coming down with the ball in the box and punching it in for a 1-0 lead.
The Cowboys kept their foot on the gas in the second half playing stingy defense and using their counterattack to create scoring chances.
Pavel Barrera led Martin Gonzalez with a perfectly placed pass in the 55th minute and Gonzalez converted with a defender on his back for a 2-0 Cowboys advantage in the second half.
Jeremyas Rodriguez put the finishing touches on the first round playoff game with a goal in the 75th minute coming off a counterattack and pass from Sizu Aguillon.
Porter’s defense tightened down the stretch to prevent PSJA North scoring opportunities and pull off the shutout.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game coming into this one. We talked all week about getting our mindset in the right place,” Gonzalez said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game because we’ve played against them before. We just had to come out, make the right play, everyone do their part, and we knew we’d come out with the victory and thank God we did.”
Brownsville Porter improves to 22-1-2 overall with the bi-district playoff win, while PSJA North’s season ends at 15-9 on the year.
