From left to right, new Scorpions Pablo Degollado, Allan Gonzales, Enrique Rivera, and Christian Sierra sign Letters of Intent in front of men's soccer coach Dan Balaguero.

Four More Valley Soccer Players Sign Letters of Intent
 July 20, 2007
 Four Brownsville area soccer players, two who played on high school state champion teams, signed Red River Athletic Conference Letters of Intent to join the UTB/TSC men's soccer program.

Forward Enrique Rivera, and defender Christian Sierra, who played on state champion teams at Lopez and Porter, respectively; midfielder Pablo Degollado from Los Fresnos, and defender Allan Gonzales of Hanna will be part of the first Scorpion men's soccer team, which starts its season August 23.

 

Rivera was a member of the 2004 Lopez High School Class 4A state champion team and defender Christian Sierra was part of the 2006 Porter High School Class 5A state champion squad. The signings bring the total number of players signed from the Rio Grande Valley to 14.

 

"A major reason for the quality of the class is due to the base of players we have here in the Valley," men's soccer coach Dan Balaguero said. "To bring in 14 players from the community is virtually unheard of at any program the country."

 

The signings are the last ones Balaguero has planned for the first season.

 

“When I arrived March, I knew I had to get to work and hit the recruiting trail hard, to bring in about 29 quality student-athletes," Balaguero said. "I am also grateful to my contacts that have assisted me in bringing the athletes here.  I am very excited to start pre-season training, I know we have a good class coming in and recruiting could not have gone any better."

 

Pablo Degollado (midfielder)

 

"Pablo is a physical presence with a bright future ahead of him," Balaguero said. "He is a tremendous competitor who can mix things up in the center of the park, pings a great ball and can score from distance."

 

Degollado, a 2007 graduate of Los Fresnos High School, was the kicker the Falcon football team, booting a career-best 50-yard field goal in a game and a 65-yarder in practice. He was an all-district selection in both soccer and football.

"I had offers to play football at other schools, but I decided to pursue my bachelor's degree here," Degollado said. "It's going to be a really good program here. I plan to major in Kinesiology and go into coaching, hopefully back at Los Fresnos."

 

Allan Gonzales (defender)

 

"Allan is a player with a tremendous attitude, and is very sound technically," Balaguero said. "He is a physical presence who will thrive at the collegiate level.  He is comfortable in both the center and the right hand side of the defense."

 

Gonzales, a 2007 graduate of Hanna High, was a two-year starter for the Eagles, earning all-district honors. He played for Rivera High during his freshman and sophomore seasons.

 

"Our own university here matched my goals, to be in the Engineering program, and it's close to home," Gonzales said. "I'll have lot of family who can watch me play. I'm excited to be part aof the team and compete to do what I can to help the team."

 

Enrique Rivera (forward)

 

"We are delighted to have signed Enrique, he has great qualities and well integrate very well into our style of football," Balaguero said. "He is a very good finisher and although he is predominately a striker, he is a very adaptable player."

 

Rivera is a 2005 graduate of Lopez High where he was a four-year starter and scored 32 goals. He is back in his hometown after playing at Texas College during the 2005-06 season, where he scored 12 goals. He was enrolled at UTB/TSC during 2006-07.

 

"I wanted to come back to Brownsville and defend our school again," Rivera said. "We're going to have a very great team here that I want to be a part of. I want to win a national championship."

 

Christian Sierra (defender)                                       

 

"Christian is a tremendous left-sided defender," Balaguero said. "He is a player I identified very early and I am thrilled that he has committed with us.  He has great defensive abilities, is very hard to beat one-on-one, and tactically very aware.  He has a wonderful left foot and can pass the ball out of the back."

 

Sierra, a 2007 graduate of Porter High, was a three-year starter for the Cowboys.

 

"This is the best place for me to be, and I want to be a part of this team," Sierra said. "All my family is here and they will be able to see me play. I'm going to have a lot of friends on this team too."