by Constancio Martinez, JR.
special press
The 2023-2024 Port Isabel Tarpons girls soccer team finished the season with a record of 13-9 overall and 9-3 in the district. The team finished second in the district standings behind district champion IDEA Riverview (13-1). In the playoffs, Port Isabel won their first playoff game since the 2021 season (vs. Progreso 1-0). The following players received All-District Honors for their performance on the field.
The true star of the team, senior Laura Mosqueda, was rightly named the district's Offensive MVP. She led by example as captain, finishing the season with 14 goals and 29 points. Her accuracy as her team's main penalty kicker was a testament to her skill and dedication, as she successfully completed six of her seven penalty kick attempts.
Daniela Hernandez (senior), who scored a team-high 17 goals and 35 points, was awarded first-team forward honors. Mia Perdomo (junior) scored nine goals and 19 points this year and earned second team forward honors.
Melanie Hernandez (junior) earned first-team midfield honors. She finished the season with eight goals and 18 points. Valerie Gonzalez (senior) and Marishka Baston (Sofmore) received midfield honorable mention. They scored 6 and 4 goals respectively.
Defensively, Desiree Vidauri (junior) earned first team goaltender honors. Bidaouri, a solid defender, made a whopping 105 saves. Dulce Pardo (senior) was selected as a first-team defenseman. She had a team-high 59 stolen bases. Katie Espinoza (senior) received honorable mention in the defense category. She was second on the team with 52 stolen bases.
The team will be hurt next season as it will lose several second- and third-year seniors who were starters on both sides of the ball. However, head coach Johnny Nieto is already looking forward to the summer soccer league, where he expects them to gain “more experience to build better ball work and soccer IQ.”
