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McALLEN, Texas - The clash between Starr United and Álvarez Jrs. lived up to expectations Saturday at Springfest soccer fields when both sides played to a 4-4 draw to preserve their respective unbeaten records in Week 3 of the South Texas Premier Soccer Association’s Elite U-20 League.
Álvarez Jrs. (2-0-1, 7 pts.) and Starr United (2-0-1, 7 pts.) held on to their second and third place slots, respectively, after the draw and Deportivo Álvarez’ 5-1 victory over Edinburg earlier in the day.
Deportivo Álvarez (3-0-0) notched their third straight win to accumulate nine points and hang on to the Elite U-20 League’s top spot.
In the battle between a pair of the league’s top scorers for Álvarez Jrs. and Starr United, former McAllen Rowe forward Marcos Ruiz added a pair of tallies (45’ y 72’) to sum up six in the Apertura 2009 season. Meanwhile, Starr United’s José Rivera also put a pair of shots into the back of the net (70’ y 83’). Rivera also has six goals this season.
Rivera’s score in the 83rd minute was the equalizer that gave the Starr County squad a valuable point in the standings.
In an earlier match, Manny’s Electric (1-0-2, 3 pts.) was spurred on by former Brownsville Hanna standout Mario Zamora’s hat-trick to down Valley View Dos Ríos 5-1. The win was Manny Electric’s first of the season, while Valley View Dos Ríos fell to 1-0-2 with three points.
Former Edinburg Economedes striker Juan Pantoja tallied his first goal of the season for Manny’s Electric with an equalizer in the 30th minute. Valley View Dos Ríos’ Martín Nuñez had opened the scoring four minutes earlier.
Eduardo Lugo put Manny’s Electric up 4-1 in the 71st minute.
In the other afternoon match, Santos Laguna defeated Edcouch-Elsa 7-2 on a hat-trick by Juan Treviño.
After the dust settled, Wladimir Ayala and Fabián Silva, both Deportivo Álvarez strikers, found themselves atop the league scoring leaders with seven goals each.
The Elite U-20 League is the first of its kind in the Rio Grande Valley. The league was established to continue the development of local soccer talent in the area.
The STXPSA is affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), United Soccer Leagues (USL), the Premier Development League (PDL), RGV Bravos FC and the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA).
For more information, call (956) 961-4892.
