By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Perla Briseno never scored in a varsity soccer game. She picked a good night to get her first.
Briseno scored the go-ahead goal with six minutes left to lift the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons past the PSJA North Lady Raiders 3-1 in a Class 6A bi-district round playoff game at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium in Los Fresnos.
She fought Lady Raiders defenders to pounce on a ball launched over the top of PSJA North’s backline and shot it on target to break the deadlock.
The rare goal came as a surprise for Briseno, considering she started the game playing in defense but was moved to the right wing during the second half.
“I wasn’t expecting it. I wasn’t ready for that,” she said. “All of a sudden I saw the opportunity to make it. I was eager to make that goal and I did everything I could. I just shot it in.”
The Lady Falcons spent most of the game as the aggressors, with their furious attack knocking on the door during the second half while tied at 1.
Perseverance was the key in Los Fresnos’ second-half surge after letting PSJA North hang close for most of the game.
“We started out strong,” Los Fresnos coach Patricia Hernandez said. “We made a mistake and they capitalized. But the girls regrouped in the second half and came out stronger. They wanted the win, fought for the win and it took a lot of teamwork.”
Failed touches in a box crowed by PSJA North’s back three or saves by goalkeeper Bernice Moreno kept them out of goal for most of the half.
Moreno played in between the posts for PSJA North despite being a regular winger for the side.
“If you saw from the beginning we were struggling because of the fact that all season she’s been picking up that slack,” PSJA North Margeaux McCarthy said. “She had to take those sacrifices and she owned up to it. Basically and our other senior were the heart of the team, and it was a hell of an effort on her part because of the fact it could have been a lot worse than we’re looking at. She single handedly stopped a good load of those shots coming through.”
Brisenos’ goal put Los Fresnos ahead, and the team scored again with 24.3 seconds left in the game when Gabby Moya rushed on a ball mishandled by Moreno.
Moya broke free on the ball and put it between the unprotected posts with a light touch for the Lady Falcons’ third tally of the night.
“We couldn’t finish. That’s something we have to prepare for in the next round,” Hernandez said. “Even with that, our girls never gave up. They kept attacking that goal and knocking on it, hoping that something would go in. It did. We were patient.”
Los Fresnos charged hard on the goal during the first half and kept PSJA North in its defensive half.
The Lady Falcons put their first tally on the board during the 13th minute when left winger Allison Spier sent a low cross to Claire Castaneda. Castaneda split two PSJA North defenders and beat the keeper with a shot off her inside heel to put Los Fresnos in front.
PSJA North sat back in its own half for most of the game, waiting to catch Los Fresnos pushing a lot of numbers forward and counter attack.
The Lady Raiders knotted the game on a counterattack during the 34th minute, when Sarah Serrano beat the Lady Falcons’ defense and made a move to the left side of the box, hitting the top corner of the far post for a goal.
Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @joshuabvherald.