Rio Grande Valley Bravos - www.rgvbravos.com
Sunday, July 19, 2009
HIDALGO, TX -- It was a fun ride while it lasted, but RGV Bravos FC’s inaugural season came to an abrupt end Sunday night after falling 3-1 in the USL PDL season finale to fellow expansion team West Texas United at Valley View High School Stadium.
The Sockers (8-5-3) accumulated 27 points with the win over RGV and clinched one of the two remaining playoff spots. West Texas United finished the regular season in second place and will face the third-place Austin Aztex. The winner will advance to the second round of the divisional playoffs against the Mid South champion Laredo Heat.
Bravos FC (6-5-5) concluded the 2009 season with 23 points and in fifth place of the Mid South Division.
WTU set the tone of the match in the 22nd minute when José Muñoz put the Sockers ahead 1-0 when he pushed in his previous shot past RGV goalkeeper Román Cisneros that ricocheted off the post.
The Sockers’ 3-5-2 formation frustrated the offensive-minded Bravos FC squad, which led to several imprecise passes and lost balls in midfield by the Blue-and-Gold.
Bravos FC Technical Director Ismael “Moreira” Braga adjusted his strategy with second-half substitutions of forwards Damián “Niño” López and Alfonso Cavazos in place of attackers Tomás Banda and Alex “El Principe” Ríos in the 58th minute.
Nine minutes later, Blue-and-Gold leading-scorer Salvador “Chava” Luna equalized the match at 1-all when he took an Edgar Coria pass and penetrated the stingy West Texas defense. Luna beat visiting keeper Leif Craddock, but had his initial shot deflected. However, with his back against the goal, the persistent Bravos FC attacker made a second attempt with a bicycle kick that floated over the WTU defender’s head and into the Sockers’ net.
The score was Luna’s 16 goal of the season in 14 games. The scrappy attacker, who resides in Hidalgo, did not play the first two matches of the season due to International Clearance issues.
The Blue-and-Gold’s celebration was silenced less than a minute later when WTU midfielder Dominic Furness looped a 25-yard shot over Cisneros and the Sockers retook the lead 2-1.
WTU put the game virtually out of reach in the 76th minute on Muñoz’s second tally of the night on a low shot from the right side to the first post that increased the visitors’ lead 3-1.
RGV had a golden opportunity to cut the Sockers’ advantage in the 86th minute when Valley squad was awarded a penalty kick. However, midfielder Jorge Herrera launched the freebie through the uprights to end any chance of a Bravos FC comeback.
Despite the loss, Bravos FC’s inaugural season is deemed a success due to the offensive and entertaining style of soccer that Head Coach “Moreira” Braga implemented in the first-year club, along with the amazing fan response and atmosphere at the Blue-and-Gold’s home matches, which has provoked a lot of buzz around the PDL.
GAME NOTES: Bravos FC concluded their inaugural 2009 USL PDL season above .500 with 6 wins, 5 losses, 5 draws for 23 points…18 of the 25 Bravos FC players are from the Valley…Technical Director Ismael “Moreira” Braga used four players from Brownsville in the starting lineup for the second game ina row…The Blue-and-Gold’s average age this season was 21.4 years of age…West Texas United outshot RGV 15-11 and fouled the Valley squad 21-11.
