GREG LUCA | STAFF WRITER
WESLACO — With 11:38 to play in Friday’s Class 6A area round game, McAllen High’s Brandon Rangel stepped up to a penalty kick with a chance to tie Brownsville Hanna.
Rangel struck the shot cleanly, driving the ball low and toward the left post. But Hanna keeper Eduardo Cazares had it tracked the whole way, diving to his right to make a save and preserve Hanna’s 1-0 win at Weslaco East.
Hanna will face either Brownsville Veterans or Laredo United South in the regional quarterfinals.
“Some shooters have a really tricky shot, but I knew where he was going,” Cazares said. “I just felt confident. I felt really aware. I felt really confident.”
Cazares couldn’t explain how he knew where Rangel would fire his shot, calling it “just a feeling.”
Rangel, McHi’s leading scorer on the year with 27 goals, said he was happy with what he made of the opportunity.
“That’s how I wanted it,” Rangel said. “But it was a good save by the keeper. The keeper didn’t fall for the bait, and he stopped it.”
The critical save made a first-half goal by Alberto Huerta stand as the game’s lone tally.
After Oscar Cordova attacked the net near the goal line, his centering pass slowly rolled to Huerta in prime scoring position at the center of the box. His first attempt was deflected back to him, but he scored on the rebound to give the Golden Eagles a lead with 17:35 to play in the first half.
“It was our defensive mistake,” McHi coach Fernando Segovia said. “That was it. They took care of it.”
“I think our biggest challenge was ourselves,” Segovia added. “We beat ourselves today. I feel that we panicked too much. We weren’t crisp with our passes. That’s it.”
Both teams struggled to put consistent offense together through a driving wind. McHi’s best chances to score came with the wind at its back in the second period. With about 23:00 to play, the Bulldogs generated a pair of corner kicks that ended with scrambles in the box, and with about 14:00 remaining Rangel put a volley over the net.
“They were clearing everything out,” Rangel said. “They were clearing everything out and not giving us too many opportunities to play our game.”
McHi, which went 12-0 in District 30-6A, was looking to advance past the area round for the first time since 2006.
Hanna is more used to the playoff success, hoping for another deep run after advancing all the way to the state final in 2013.
“Going to the third round is very special to me,” Cazares said. “Last year, we fell short in the third round. This year, we’re not going to do the same. We’re going to go farther, hopefully to the state tournament.”