McALLEN — The Weslaco East Wildcats are looking to build off a successful 2021 campaign. With four soccer powerhouses from Brownsville in their district, the Wildcats managed to punch their ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2016 last year, narrowly edging the Brownsville Pace Vikings in the standings.
The Wildcats are returning several key players from last year’s qualifying team.
Weslaco East showed its postseason potential during Day 1 of the Pat Leal Soccer Tournament on Thursday, picking up a win over Class 6A foe Harlingen South, while tying with the reigning District 32-6A champion Los Fresnos Falcons.
“Last year was a tough year because of COVID,” head coach Robby Contreras said. “As a result of COVID, we had to play iron man. We only had 11 players throughout the entire season. … What that taught us is no matter what district you’re in, it can happen. You can make it happen. … That’s our goal. Our goal is to keep them healthy and of course eligible and hopefully have a great season this year. If we were able to do that last year with 11, we want to build off of that. The sky is the limit.”
Contreras is aware of the challenge at hand if the Wildcats hope to return to the postseason, with three of the district’s teams ranking in the Top 15 of the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches Organization’s Region IV-5A poll.
A pair of returning senior defenders is a big reason for Contreras’ optimism, with Sebastian Caballero and Jehu Balderas anchoring the Wildcats’ back line.
“These guys are the captain and the leaders of our team,” Contreras said. “We have several other players who are in the mix, but they’re the captains of the team. They’re the ones who carry the team. Of course, we’re preparing to get everybody else on board. Hopefully with them we can muster something up against a great district and see what we can do.”
Elsewhere, the McAllen Memorial Mustangs earned a pair of victories in Group A, defeating Weslaco High 1-0 and Edinburg Vela 6-0. The Mustangs sit in second place in their group, with Rio Grande City holding the top spot after a 3-0 record Thursday.
In Group C, tournament host McAllen High holds the No. 2 spot going into today’s contests after going 2-0-2. Leo Salinas continued his hot play from last week’s Mission Eagles Soccer Invitational, netting a pair of goals.
Group play continues at 9 a.m. today, with games taking place at Boxer Hernandez Stadium, McAllen Rowe Stadium and McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
