BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN – Kaitie Watson spearheaded the offense. Nallely Garza cemented the defense.
And that was enough Tuesday night for the Sharyland Lady Rattlers as they edged McAllen Memorial 2-0 at McAllen Veterans Memorial stadium in a non-district girls soccer match between two of the Valley’s best programs.
Sharyland was not dominant on offense, but it was efficient. Memorial’s physical play kept it back much of the night, but the Lady Rattlers took advantage of some fast breaks and a rare Lady Mustangs’ defensive miscue for the victory.
Watson was the protagonist on both scores — getting one into the net in the first half simply by providing, after a steal, a nice service ball in front of Memorial’s goal that went in off a Lady Mustang. In the second half, the sophomore raced past two defenders on a fast break to find the back of the net from 15 yards out.
“We knew coming in that Memorial was a very good team and we just put it together,” Sharyland coach Aaron Clemons said. “Our defense just came up big today. They were awesome.”
No doubt. Sharyland’s backline of Garza, who was moved to sweeper for this game, and goalie Kim Cano was attacked much of the night. Garza, a senior, stopped several Lady Mustang attacks by clearing the ball, dictating defensive play and, with one spectacular save, stopped a shot on goal by jumping in the air and doing a back-kick to make contact with the ball.
“It’s all about communication. Without my fullbacks and the full team, the shutout would not have been possible,” Garza said.
As far as the unorthodox mid-air save: “I don’t know,” Garza said, laughing. “I was just running. I saw the ball go back behind me, and I said ‘Oh no, this is not happening.’ So I just picked up my leg and luckily it hit it.”
Memorial was aggressive and had a solid offensive night. The Lady Mustangs moved the ball well, had some good plays, crisp passing at times and numerous shots on goal – more than Sharyland – but just couldn’t score.
“I was real happy with the way we played,” Memorial coach Mathew Kaiser said. “Not the outcome, but the effort and play was there and we had our chances. That’s the game of soccer.”
BY TJ GARCIA
SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN – Kaitie Watson spearheaded the offense. Nallely Garza cemented the defense.
And that was enough Tuesday night for the Sharyland Lady Rattlers as they edged McAllen Memorial 2-0 at McAllen Veterans Memorial stadium in a non-district girls soccer match between two of the Valley’s best programs.
Sharyland was not dominant on offense, but it was efficient. Memorial’s physical play kept it back much of the night, but the Lady Rattlers took advantage of some fast breaks and a rare Lady Mustangs’ defensive miscue for the victory.
Watson was the protagonist on both scores — getting one into the net in the first half simply by providing, after a steal, a nice service ball in front of Memorial’s goal that went in off a Lady Mustang. In the second half, the sophomore raced past two defenders on a fast break to find the back of the net from 15 yards out.
“We knew coming in that Memorial was a very good team and we just put it together,” Sharyland coach Aaron Clemons said. “Our defense just came up big today. They were awesome.”
No doubt. Sharyland’s backline of Garza, who was moved to sweeper for this game, and goalie Kim Cano was attacked much of the night. Garza, a senior, stopped several Lady Mustang attacks by clearing the ball, dictating defensive play and, with one spectacular save, stopped a shot on goal by jumping in the air and doing a back-kick to make contact with the ball.
“It’s all about communication. Without my fullbacks and the full team, the shutout would not have been possible,” Garza said.
As far as the unorthodox mid-air save: “I don’t know,” Garza said, laughing. “I was just running. I saw the ball go back behind me, and I said ‘Oh no, this is not happening.’ So I just picked up my leg and luckily it hit it.”
Memorial was aggressive and had a solid offensive night. The Lady Mustangs moved the ball well, had some good plays, crisp passing at times and numerous shots on goal – more than Sharyland – but just couldn’t score.
“I was real happy with the way we played,” Memorial coach Mathew Kaiser said. “Not the outcome, but the effort and play was there and we had our chances. That’s the game of soccer.”