By Brian Argabright
With all the playoff teams set, the next girls soccer season begins tonight.
The Del Rio Queens travel to San Antonio today to face the Taft Lady Raiders at 7 p.m. at Dub Farris Stadium in the Bi-District round of the Class 6A Girls Soccer Playoffs.
Del Rio is the number two seed out of District 30-6A while Taft is the number three seed out of District 29-6A.
For the Queens, being district runners-up is small consolation after coming so close last season to winning the district title. The Queens had a six-point advantage in the standings with two matches remaining when the season came to an end due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officially, no district title was awarded for the 2019-20 season.
This season, the Queens were unbeaten and on track to claim the district crown until dropping back-to-back matches to eventual district champions Laredo Alexander.
The Queens are stacked with underclassmen. Only four seniors dot the roster, but they include defensive stopper Johanna Rodriguez, 2020 All-District First Team defender Jocelyn Rodriguez, defender Larissa Navarro, and striker Ema Rojas, who was one of the team leaders in goals this season.
Without a junior varsity team this year, head coach Wilber Rivas added several freshmen to the squad to give them some early varsity experience. The move paid off as they’ve helped to keep the returners on the team fresh and give the team new legs when needed. Rivas has also seen plenty of contributions from his sophomores including midfielders Laurie Ignacio, Mia Ortiz and Kayla De Los Angeles, and defender Xitlali Guadalajara.
The strength of the team lies in its juniors, which includes starting goalie Zoey Ortiz, talented ball handler and scorer Cassandra Ochoa, as well as striker and firebrand Jadyn Casillas.
Whereas Del Rio has youth aplenty, Taft is anchored by a strong core of seniors. Nine of the Lady Raiders are a part of the class of 2021 including midfielder/forward Chloe Miller, who is second on the team with 10 goals, but leads the team with 10 assists.
Taft’s attack is led by freshman Jordan Matthews who tallied 18 goals and 8 assists this season. Matthews and Miller were two of three Taft players who notched at least nine goals this season, the other being sophomore Alexia Salinas, who scored nine goals and had three assists.
The winner of tonight’s match will face either Brownsville Vela or Harlingen South in the Area round of the playoffs.
Tickets for tonight’s match can be purchased online only at https://nisd.net/athletics/tickets
Fans will also need to fill out a health screening to show with their online ticket before they can enter the stadium. The health screening questions can be found at https://nisdhealthscreening.nisd.net/?Loc=361L&Loc=361L
No outside food or drinks will be allowed into the stadium, and masks must be worn at all times inside the facility.
