BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — The PSJA Southwest Lady Javelinas have a flair for the dramatic — no mater what half it is.
Sophomore striker Victoria Trevino scored PSJA Southwest’s go-ahead goal with 6:25 left in the game when she sneaked a header by the Vela goalkeeper, and Salma Gonzalez scored just ticks before the half to hand the Javelinas a key District 31-6A victory Friday night.
Trevino, unmarked, took a line drive corner kick from Angela De Leon near the goalkeeper’s left side, got small and headed the ball into the side of the net. It was exactly what the Lady Javelinas needed to stay solidly in second place behind Edinburg Economedes and ahead of Vela.
PSJA Southwest improves to 9-1 in district, and Vela falls to 7-3.
“In practice, I don’t know why, but I had this feeling I had to practice with Angela in the corner kicks and the centers,” Trevino said. “And I don’t know how, but I just put my head on it and it got in. I just felt something telling me put your little head in there, and I did.”
Trevino, who praised her teammates for finding her and playing team ball, had several impressive runs at goal but came up empty most of the night. She did score, however, when it mattered. Meanwhile, Southwest’s defense was on point the entire game.
The Lady Javelinas, which scored their second straight victory over the Lady SaberCats, gave up just one score to potent Vela and kept prolific scorer Cherylen Chavez scoreless. On the flip side, PSJA Southwest kept the pressure on Vela’s defense with a dozen shots on goal in the second half compared to Vela’s four — including a score by Vela’s Ayssa Arevalo at the 19:31 mark.
In the first half, Vela dominated play, pushing deep into PSJA Southwest territory while savvy defenders Soledad Garcia and Brianna De Leon harassed the Lady Javelinas. The plan worked, except for the last few seconds of the period.
That’s when striker Gonzalez, in among a jumble of players right in front of the goal, kicked a service ball into the net with just seven seconds left.
Her heroics and with Trevino’s goal both beat the clock and Vela, making coach Juan A. Rodriguez very happy.
“We made less mistakes tonight. It was as simple as that. They (Vela) are a very good team. A very fast team and very well coached,” said Rodriguez. “Thank God we came away with the win tonight. We passed well. We attacked well.”