By RGVFútbol/Staff

HIDALGO, 26 Feb. - The Valley View Tigers woke up Tuesday to find out that hard work pays off when they were notified that they had broken into the nation’s Top 50 rankings.

A day after reclaiming RGVFútbol.com’s No. 1 ranking in the Río Grande Valley and attaining the No. 12 spot in Texas, Valley View was ranked No. 50 by Elite Soccer Reports. Brownsville Hanna was ranked No. 13 in Texas.

"It’s been a lot of hard work, three year’s worth of work and the kids were finally compensated with that recognition for all their hard work since the beginning of the year,” said third-year Valley View head coach Damián Magallán. “The kids believed in us and that with hard work and a lot of effort, they believed we could do something big. We’ve been working hard for three years to get to state and that’s our goal.”

Despite several injuries, Valley View remains undefeated in District 63-4A competition with a 5-0 record. Overall, the Tigers are 22-1-2. Valley View defeated Mercedes 4-0 on Feb. 19 in their only outing last week.

While nursing a series of nagging injuries, Valley View has shown its depth by remaining among the top teams in the Valley, Texas, and now, the country.

"Aside from all the injuries, the kids have worked hard and they’ve displayed a lot of unity among each other," said Magallán. "They haven’t been divided and the bench has had the opportunity to get into it, show what they can do, and they believe in what we can do."

The Tigers’ offense has racked up 22 goals in five district matches and averaging 4.4 goals per game. Defensively, Valley View is even stronger. The border squad has allowed only two goals in district for a 0.4 average.

"This has been a total team effort and the defense has been working hard," said Magallán. "They all have to work hard to get what they want. If they don’t work, it’ll be harder, but if they work hard like they’ve been doing, we can reach our goals."

"Part of what we’ve tried to instill in them during games is hot feet and a cool head," added the Valley View coach. "That we get far is good, but to win the state title is the goal. Yet it’s not just about reaching that, it’s so that the kids can also have the opportunity to get a scholarship and go on to get a college degree while playing soccer."

Valley View’s success on the field has resulted in off-the-field success. Eight of the Tigers’ 11 starters have been offered scholarships to NAIA Division I schools such as Our Lady of the Lake, the University of Houston-Victoria, Wiley College, and Texas College. The other three starters are juniors Erick "Pini" Martínez, José Ángel "Torito" Soto, and José Guadalupe Flores.

"We have eight kids that have been offered scholarships, that’s never happened before, to have that many kids from one team get offers is hard," said Magallán. "Of the 11 starters, eight will go to college. The other three are juniors and will go next year. This is something that's going to have an impact in the community."