By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — If the Lopez Lady Lobos wanted an additional opportunity to work on their penalty kicks as they prepare for the state playoffs, they got it Tuesday against the Harlingen High Lady Cardinals.
The District 32-6A match at Boggus Stadium went to penalty kicks with the score deadlocked at 2 after 100 minutes of regulation and overtime action.
Once in penalties, the Lady Lobos (8-5, 25 points) won 3-1 as Samantha Ruiz, Carla Gracia and Kiara Garcia converted their attempts. Areli Gonzalez was the only one for the Lady Cardinals (3-10, 10 points) to make good on her attempt.
Officially, the score of the match goes down as a 3-2 triumph for the Lady Lobos.
Tuesday marked the fifth time this season the Lopez girls, who already have secured a playoff berth, have gone to penalties in district. In those games, they’ve now won twice.
“We’ve had our share of them,” Lopez coach Alex Macias said. “We work on them all the time (in practice).”
It was a tough result for the Lady Cardinals, who were coming off last Friday’s 5-4 victory in overtime against the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers.
“We’re doing better,” Lady Cardinals coach Phillip Oxford said. “We’re still missing two girls due to injuries, but everyone else has stepped up. We’ve improved, but it’s just a little too late (to make the playoffs).”
There were four goals scored during the opening half, two by each team.
It all started when the Lady Cardinals’ Gonzalez, a freshman, tallied from close range barely four minutes into the match to make it 1-0.
Two minutes later, Estrella Espinoza’s shot on a direct kick found the net to even the score at 1.
The Lady Lobos went up 2-1 during the 18th minute when Ruiz’s well-placed direct kick from just outside the 18-yard box on the right side settled into the left corner of the goal.
With three minutes remaining before intermission, the Lady Cardinals’ Leah Rivas Leal, another freshman, attacked from the left side, dribbled in close and squeezed an accurate shot from close range into the goal between the left post and the Lopez goalkeeper.
Each team has one game remaining in district. The playoffs start March 26.