By RGV Fútbol/Staff

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McALLEN, 1 Jan. - After an eight month wait, the high school soccer preseason finally got underway last week with the beginning of scrimmages for the boys and girls varsity, junior varsity, and junior varsity light teams from around the Rio Grande Valley.

“The season we’ve been waiting for is finally here, and we hope that everything we have worked for gets compensated and we reap the fruits of our labor,” said Brownsville Porter head coach José Espitia, whose team advanced to the Class 5A State Tournament in 2011.

“This season brings high expectations,” added Espitia. “A lot of strong teams around the Valley are coming back. We hope that Porter will be one of those protagonists. I wish all the Valley teams a lot of success in 2012.”

Porter opened the preseason with a scrimmage against another top-ranked team, the Valley View Tigers, on Dec. 29 at Tiger Stadium in Hidalgo.

Although the home team Tigers dropped a 2-1 decision to the Cowboys in their preseason matchup, the passion of the game and the dawn of a new soccer season did little to dampen the optimism of a Valley View squad that reached the Region IV Class 4A semifinals last year.

“It’s good to be back,” said second-year Valley View head coach Damián Magallán. “It’s never fun to lose, but you have to put it into perspective, it’s a preseason match and both these teams are among the top-ranked in the Valley.”

“We’re very optimistic and excited about the new season,” added Magallán. “We did some good things today, and we got to see some things where we need a little bit of work.”

Despite the scrimmage status of the game, the match had a good showing among Valley View fans and students that recognized the tune up between the Tigers and Cowboys as more than just a typical preseason friendly. The quality, style, and aggressiveness of play on the field proved the fans right.

The Valley soccer preseason scrimmages will continue this coming week and conclude on Jan. 10. The tournament season will begin Jan. 12.