FC Brownsville starts season well
By EDWARD SEVERN
Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — FC Brownsville is not the same team as last year. Today the squad is rebranded, revitalized and ready to continue a solid start to the season.
FC Brownsville, in the National Premier Soccer League, sits in third place in the Lone Star Conference and is in position for one of four playoff spots in their conference. They have nine points in five matches this season.
Last season, FC Brownsville picked up seven points during its first five matches but faded out, only picking up a draw in the final five matches of a 10-match season.
The club rinsed last season’s bad juju off with a logo change and new attitude.
“We did not have the players, depth, coaches and sponsors that we have this year,” coach and player Carlos Acevedo said. “We did not have a bunch of things that were necessary to be a solid and consistent program. This year we were able to recruit some good players and get some solid sponsors.”
The team’s mentality has changed, Acevedo said, and it’s more confident this season before matches.
“Three wins from five matches is a good start to the season,” Acevedo said.
FC Brownsville was on the road for four of the matches, winning two. Its only home match was a 5-0 victory against CF10 Houston FC.
FC Brownsville will play five of its six remaining matches at home. Its last match will be in Katy, against the team it smashed 5-0 earlier this season.
A loss at Irving FC after playing nearly the whole second half with 10 men is an example of tough luck on the road. FC Brownsville gave up the winner during the 98th minute. Stoppage time was only supposed to be four minutes, Acevedo said, but went longer.
“It was very unfair, a very bittersweet moment,” he said. “We felt we deserved that point. We are proud to have held it down for the second half, and then to get the result was a tough pill to swallow.”
Acevedo leads the team in scoring with three goals in three matches. Julian Espinoza, a state champion at Brownsville Rivera, has started every match in the midfield.
The back line is led by Cesar Saldivar. The defender spent 10 seasons in Mexico’s second division and played with Liga MX San Luis for part of the 2012-2013 season.
“He is a leader in the back,” Acevedo said. “He is a very dominant presence in the back line, and I feel that he does a very good job of organizing our midfield. We play a complicated back line, but having his experience and voice in the back has helped younger player feed off of his experience.”
Saldivar plays in the middle of a back three. The 3-5-2 is the formation of choice for Acevedo. The player-manager said it is a complicated formation to learn, especially when the team transitions from attack to defense or vice versa, but things are coming along.
FC Brownsville plays Fort Worth Vaqueros FC at 7:15 p.m. today at Brownsville Hanna.
