BY NATHANIEL MATA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Edinburg Economedes suffered first-round playoff losses the last two seasons. On Friday night, the Jaguars wouldn’t be denied in a 3-1 overtime victory over Los Fresnos at Richard Flores Stadium in Edinburg.
The Jaguars got all their goals from forward Abraham Alferez. His hat trick was the product of strong team play that got better as the match progressed.
“Thanks to the team, I scored,” Alferez said. “At halftime, we talked and remembered practice and all that. We wanted to keep on (playing).”
Alferez scored one goal in the second half, as well as a goal in each of the overtime periods.
His game-winning goal, scored in the first overtime, went in after Los Fresnos goalie Jose Zuniga made the initial save.
After the stop, Zuniga couldn’t keep control through a collision, and Alferez tapped the ball into the open net.
The Falcons bench was up in arms, but the play was deemed legal by the officials.
Los Fresnos had control in the early stages of the match. The Falcons created better chances and maintained the ball for much of the first 40 minutes. Economedes didn’t allow for any of those opportunities to reach the back of the net, with strong defense and goalkeeping.
The earliest notable chance from Los Fresnos came when Marcelino Ornelas threaded a pass to Carlos Marquez. The danger was averted when goalkeeper and defender combined to cut down the angle for a shot.
Economedes sophomore defender Juan Iracheta had his influence all over shutting down the Falcons attack. The tall center back anchored his team from behind, clearing numerous balls and taking free kicks.
“The ball was just going to our goalie, so we were just communicating a lot to not let them score on us,” Iracheta said. “We really wanted to pass on and get another round and start better.”
Jaguars starting goalkeeper Miguel Escudero stood tall in the first half, making his best save on a diving play with 10 minutes left in the period.
After halftime, Economedes came out with more energy and, consequently, more offense.
Coach Sam Gonzalez credited his captains for lighting a fire under his team.
“They came through and pumped them up,” Gonzalez said. “‘Play smart. Play good. Play aggressive, and don’t let go.’ And that’s what we did.”
The hard work and better half paid dividends with 32:47 to play, when a quick transition play developed. A long-distance clear skipped nearly the length of the field, and Orlando Rodriguez dished the ball to Alferez, who scored with his thigh on the two-on-one.
The Jaguars looked like they would shut out the visitors after the first goal, suffocating any Falcons opportunity on their half of the field.
Rodriguez almost scored a goal of his own with 29 minutes to play, but Zuniga made a key stop to keep Los Fresnos afloat.
The Falcons sticking around on the road paid off with around 12 minutes to play.
Adrian Torres scored the timely equalizer. The junior hit a ball that seemed to be intended as a center, but a crowd of players from both sides were unable to change the trajectory. The ball wound up getting past back-up goalkeeper Rogelio Perez, who came into to replace injured Escudero.
Economedes didn’t let the late goal break the team’s spirit, again taking control of the match as regulation ended and into overtime.
Alferez’s second goal put the team ahead again, and he put the game on ice in the second overtime with a breakaway goal that extended the lead to 3-1.
The Jaguars will now face district 30-6A champions La Joya Juarez-Lincoln. The Huskies won their first-round matchup against Laredo United South 3-0 Thursday night.
“Now we’re looking forward to the next round,” Gonzalez said. “They’ve been wanting this for a long time.”