By Brian Argabright
Round three of the Del Rio/Laredo Alexander soccer rivalry will be held in San Antonio.
San Felipe Del Rio CISD Athletic Director Ric Smith announced Wednesday that the Class 6A, Region IV Quarterfinal match between the Del Rio Rams and Laredo Alexander Bulldogs would take place Saturday at 3 p.m. at Dub Farris Stadium in San Antonio.
Del Rio will be the visiting team. Tickets will be available online at https://nisd.net/athletics/online-tickets
District 30-6A will be on full display in the match with the district co-champions, Del Rio, facing the district’s third seed in Alexander. The other district co-champions, Laredo United, has also reached the quarterfinals and will take on San Antonio Harlan.
This is the third time this season Del Rio and Laredo Alexander lock horns. Their first meeting, March 8, ended in a 2-2 draw. Ely Losoya and Angel Aldrete each had a goal in regulation.
The two teams went to a shootout and the Rams prevailed, 5-4, to earn an extra point in the standings. Aldrete, Emmanuel Vela, Luis Estrada, Donny Lewis and Austin Ramirez were successful on their tries for the Rams.
Two days later the two teams met again. This time the Rams won in regulation, 4-3. The Rams were down 2-1 at halftime, but rallied for the win. Aldrete had a goal and Vela pulled off the hat trick including the game-winner with about two minutes to play.
Del Rio has looked sharp in this year’s playoffs, though they had to rally from a 2-0 deficit against San Antonio Stevens to win the Bi-District round, 5-2.
In the Area round, the Rams shutout La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 3-0, to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in the program’s history.
Alexander began its playoff run with a 5-1 win over San Antonio Warren. They then dispatched Los Fresnos, 2-1, to set up round three with Del Rio.
The winner of Saturday’s match advances to the regional tournament to face either San Antonio Lee or Schertz Clemens. According to MaxPreps, those two teams this season have a combined record of 47 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.
