GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Sharyland High’s Vanessa Guevara had been here before, but that proved to be little consolation. When Sharyland High first met rival Sharyland Pioneer on Feb. 16, Guevara netted the game-sealing score in penalty kicks. Still, lining up the penalty kick that could potentially give the Rattlers another win against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Guevara couldn’t help but feel the pressure.
“I was still super nervous,” Guevara said. “But I was like, ‘I did it last time. Why not do it today again and end it with a good finish?’”
Guevara did just that, punching a shot off the hands of a diving Diamondbacks keeper and into the net. After Pioneer missed its final attempt, Guevara was mobbed by her Sharyland High teammates as the Rattlers celebrated a 1-0 (5-4 in PKs) win at Sharyland Pioneer.
“It’s crazy,” Guevara said. “They’re the biggest competition, and beating them is one of the biggest things.”
With both teams regularly steamrolling the rest of District 31-5A — Sharyland High has outscored its other opponents 49-3, while Pioneer has outscored the rest of the league 40-1 — Tuesday’s win puts the Rattlers in prime position to claim a second straight district title.
Sharyland High is 10-0 and has claimed 28 of a possible 30 points, with matchups against Valley View and Rio Grande City on the schedule. Pioneer is 9-2, netting 28 of a possible 33 points heading into its season finale against Roma.
“It’s great. That’s what we’ve been working for the whole season,” Guevara said. “We wanted district champs, and now we’re on to the next level.”
The teams traded chances and possession mostly evenly throughout the contest, although each side seemed to fare slightly better when the wind was at its back.
For Sharyland High, that was the first half, when Guevara, Kaitie Watson and Isabella Marinaro each generated chances to break the deadlock.
“Everybody that plays us says we’re even,” Sharyland High coach Aaron Clemons said. “It comes down to heart and guts, and you have heart and guts on both sides of the ball. … It’s just unfortunate that there has to be a winner in this game, because both teams played excellent tonight.”
Getting the wind at its back to start the second half, Pioneer quickly generated the game’s best scoring opportunity. Only about 30 seconds into the second period, the Diamondbacks’ Julie Alanis unleashed a shot from the top of the box that deflected off the crossbar.
Andrea Reyes created a few scoring chances for Pioneer, and the team nearly found pay dirt twice off prime crossing passes in the final 10 minutes. Still, the driving wind and strong rain that began with about 17 minutes to play helped wash away the regulation win Pioneer needed to improve its chances at the district title.
“We knew what we were up against,” Pioneer coach J.J. Lopez said. “We got everything the way we wanted with the wind the second half, and we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
BY GREG LUCA
STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Sharyland High’s Vanessa Guevara had been here before, but that proved to be little consolation. When Sharyland High first met rival Sharyland Pioneer on Feb. 16, Guevara netted the game-sealing score in penalty kicks. Still, lining up the penalty kick that could potentially give the Rattlers another win against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Guevara couldn’t help but feel the pressure.
“I was still super nervous,” Guevara said. “But I was like, ‘I did it last time. Why not do it today again and end it with a good finish?’”
Guevara did just that, punching a shot off the hands of a diving Diamondbacks keeper and into the net. After Pioneer missed its final attempt, Guevara was mobbed by her Sharyland High teammates as the Rattlers celebrated a 1-0 (5-4 in PKs) win at Sharyland Pioneer.
“It’s crazy,” Guevara said. “They’re the biggest competition, and beating them is one of the biggest things.”
With both teams regularly steamrolling the rest of District 31-5A — Sharyland High has outscored its other opponents 49-3, while Pioneer has outscored the rest of the league 40-1 — Tuesday’s win puts the Rattlers in prime position to claim a second straight district title.
Sharyland High is 10-0 and has claimed 28 of a possible 30 points, with matchups against Valley View and Rio Grande City on the schedule. Pioneer is 9-2, netting 28 of a possible 33 points heading into its season finale against Roma.
“It’s great. That’s what we’ve been working for the whole season,” Guevara said. “We wanted district champs, and now we’re on to the next level.”
The teams traded chances and possession mostly evenly throughout the contest, although each side seemed to fare slightly better when the wind was at its back.
For Sharyland High, that was the first half, when Guevara, Kaitie Watson and Isabella Marinaro each generated chances to break the deadlock.
“Everybody that plays us says we’re even,” Sharyland High coach Aaron Clemons said. “It comes down to heart and guts, and you have heart and guts on both sides of the ball. … It’s just unfortunate that there has to be a winner in this game, because both teams played excellent tonight.”
Getting the wind at its back to start the second half, Pioneer quickly generated the game’s best scoring opportunity. Only about 30 seconds into the second period, the Diamondbacks’ Julie Alanis unleashed a shot from the top of the box that deflected off the crossbar.
Andrea Reyes created a few scoring chances for Pioneer, and the team nearly found pay dirt twice off prime crossing passes in the final 10 minutes. Still, the driving wind and strong rain that began with about 17 minutes to play helped wash away the regulation win Pioneer needed to improve its chances at the district title.
“We knew what we were up against,” Pioneer coach J.J. Lopez said. “We got everything the way we wanted with the wind the second half, and we just couldn’t find the back of the net.”