GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
Freshman Andrea Reyes scored with three minutes to play in the second overtime to lift Sharyland Pioneer to a 2-1 win against Victoria East in an area round playoff game Thursday in Corpus Christi.
Less than a minute after Victoria East missed a penalty kick that could have been the game winner, Reyes took a through ball to beat the offsides trap, went one-on-one with the Victoria East goalie, and finished the play with a chip.
“We never gave up. We never panicked,” Pioneer coach J.J. Lopez said. “They put a lot of pressure on us, but we were relentless today.”
Freshman Nikki Cuellar tallied in the opening half to give Pioneer a lead, but Victoria East tied the game with about 7 minutes to play.
“That deflated us a little,” Lopez said. “So I said, ‘Just htinka bout all the hard work that we’ve done throughout the season. Now we have two ten minute overtimes to keep it going.’”
Pioneer did just that, setting up a regional semifinal matchup against Edinburg Vela.
EDINBURG VELA 2, GREGORY PORTLAND 1: At Portland, Chery Chavez scored the game-winning goal with 3 minutes remaining to lift Vela.
Chavez took a through pass from one of Vela’s midfielders and went one-on-one against the Gregory-Portland goalie, tucking a shot just inside the left post with her left foot.
“It was a team effort. The girls did a great job during the game,” coach Hugo Leal said. “Everybody is a key player on our team.”
The goal was Chavez’s second of the game. Her first gave the SaberCats a 1-0 lead.
SHARYLAND HIGH 4, FLOUR BLUFF 2: At Laredo, Kaitie Watson scored twice in the first half and Sharyland High led the whole way against Flour Bluff.
Vanessa Guevara and Nalley Garza also scored for the Rattlers.
Coach Aaron Clemons said the team’s preparation was the biggest key to its success.
“We had a chance to go out and scout, and we got to see them play last Friday,” Clemons said. “I played that coach as a varsity coach and as an assistant twice over the years and kind of had a good idea of what his style was going to be. We had a good game plan, and it was successful.”
Sharyland High will face either Roma or Victoria East next.
BEEVILLE JONES 2, PROGRESO 1: At Kingsville, Progreso’s season came to an end in overtime at the hands of Beeville Jones.
BOYS
PSJA SOUTHWEST 2, CALALLEN 0: At PSJA Southwest High School, the Javelinas shut down Calallen’s attack and broke through early in the second half to secure a win.
Luis Escudero snapped a scoreless tie, and Humberto Medina followed to give Southwest some breathing room.
“The key to the game was just our speed and our quick touch,” PSJA Southwest coach Jesus Palomin said. “We took plenty of shots in the first half. We were just missing them. I think we hit the crossbar like two or three times and the side post we hit a couple of times also.”
The Javelinas controlled the midfield and limited Calallen’s offense to just two shots by taking away counter-attacking opportunities.
Southwest will play Donna next week.
DONNA 3, MEDINA VALLEY 0: At Corpus Christi, Donna High pulled out a win despite being down three regular starters.
With two players lost to red cards from the previous week and another unavailable due to injury, coach Mario Hernandez said his team kept the pressure high.
“We ran like you have no idea,” Hernandez said. “Eduardo Escobar was the leader, but the young group stepped up. … The young kids, they had to step it up today, and they did.”
Oscar Munoz scored first around 20 minutes in, and Escobar tallied the first of his two goals about 10 minutes later. Donna’s final score came after halftime.
Donna will play PSJA Southwest in the regional quarterfinals, most likely on Tuesday.
PROGRESO 3, ROCKPORT-FULTON 0: At Kingsville, Progreso’s stout defense shut down Rockport Fulton.
Coach Margarito Jimenez said Rockport-Fulton was limited to just two or three chances on goal.
“Our defense kept them in check the whole game,” Jimenez said. “Our defense has been the strength the whole season. I think we have one of the better defenses in the Valley.”
Progreso scored about 10 minutes into the game before adding their second and third goals about a minute apart midway through the second half.
Rogelio Zamora scored twice, and Heriberto Gomez scored once.
Progreso will face Hidalgo on at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Sharyland High.
HIDALGO 3, LA VERNIA 1: At Calallen, Hidalgo fell behind by a goal in the first half but controlled play the rest of the way to win.
“The kids never gave up when we were down,” Hidalgo coach Zeke Morales said. “We maintained that calm and we played our game. Overall, the team showed a lot of character coming back from behind.”
Helario Bermudez, Julio Gallardo and Victor Castaneda scored for Hidalgo.
After La Vernia scored at the 22nd minute of the first half, Hidalgo tied the match just before halftime. The Pirates tallied another goal 10 minutes into the second half and a third with 10 minutes to play.
Morales estimated that Hidalgo outshot La Vernia about 27-6.