Special to RGVFútbol

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HIDALGO, 10 Aug. - With two minutes remaining in regulation time, José Ángel "Torito" Soto scored his second goal of the match to give the South Texas Premier Soccer Association Summer League All-Stars a 3-1 victory (3-2 aggregate) over the Brownsville All-Stars and win the 2012 RGV 18-and-Under Interleague All-Star Game Series title Friday at Valley View Stadium.

The Brownsville All-Stars defeated the STXPSA West squad 1-0 on Tuesday at the Brownsville Sports Park in the first-leg of the series. The West rallied on Friday to win 3-1 and pull off a come-from-behind aggregate score victory (3-2).

"The players did great and I’m really proud of them," said STXPSA West head coach Gerardo Garza. "The guys showed a lot of character. They realized they still had a chance to tie the game and they did. They didn’t give up, and they found a way to win the game in regulation."

In Friday’s rematch, "Torito" Soto put the West up 1-0 in the 17th minute with a 20-yard free kick that found the back of the net that tied the aggregate score at 1-all.

Brownsville equalized on a counterattack that caught the West’s defense off guard and led to midfielder Roy Cruz’s goal in the 68th minute when his shot from the left side found the second post that he filtered through a pair of West defenders and goalkeeper Javier Olvera.

Although the game score was tied 1-all with 12 minutes left in the game, the East was in position to win it on aggregate score (2-1).

However, the West retook the lead in the match 2-1 in the 75th minute when Jonathan Palomo centered a pass to Daniel García, who scored on a header to equalize the aggregate at 2-all.

With five minutes remaining and the quick turn of events, it seemed that the game would have to be decided in penalty kicks which prompted the West to substitute Game One starting keeper Jorge Medina for Game Two starter Olvera, who received ovations from the pro-West crowd after exiting the field.

Apparently not wanting to prolong the game and have it decided in the PK roulette, the West gave a last ditch effort to score.

Soto, the STXPSA Summer League leading scorer, received a pass along the left side of the field and drove it into the box before shooting a low shot toward the second post past the reach of Brownsville keeper Carlos Vásquez to tally his second goal of the game in the 78th minute, give the West the victory in the match and the RGV 18-U Interleague All-Star Game Series trophy.

"The level of play on the field was excellent and it provided for an exciting and entertaining match that lasted the whole 80 minutes," said STXPSA Board Member Miguel Puente, one of the organizers of the Summer League and Interleague All-Star Game Series. "The Valley has a lot of soccer talent and we’re proud to be able to give these players a place to showcase their talent before the community. This is the second year that we’ve held the Interleague Series, and we hope to continue with it and make it a soccer tradition here in the Valley."

After the match, the medals and trophy were presented to both teams by Claudia Trujillo, the coordinator for the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME) of the Mexican Consulate in McAllen.

"Both teams played a very good game and we’re proud of the effort that they made, and we thank Brownsville for honoring us by participating in this series of games," said IME Coordinator Trujillo. "We’re happy to see the support from the community and the parents for our youth and for the summer leagues in giving them a place to play in a safe and healthy environment, and promoting these types of events."

Brownsville won the inaugural Interleague All-Star Game Series in 2011.