STEFAN MODRICH | Staff Writer
As her team warmed up behind the backdrop of a gray, gloomy sky and waited for the lights to resume shining on Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium, Los Fresnos girls soccer coach Patricia Hernandez contemplated how to make the best of the less-than-ideal conditions that plagued her squad’s game with Sharyland High on Tuesday night.
The only thing that turned out to be more steady than the rain was the stream of Los Fresnos shots on goal in a 9-2 win that has the Lady Falcons well-positioned as they aim for another deep postseason run in District 32-6A.
“The rain was a bit of an issue, it took us a little while to adjust, especially with the speed of the ball,” Hernandez said. “Regardless of technical issues, we try to keep our girls focused on the game and ready for the task at hand. I thought the girls overcame the weather. It didn’t help and we played a little bit sloppy, but we made up for it.”
But Los Fresnos dominated possession from wire to wire, and rolled out to a 5-0 halftime lead that proved insurmountable, even after surrendering two Sharyland High goals during the second half.
Junior Jocelyn Gaznares scored the first goal of the night mere minutes into the contest, and shortly thereafter the rout was on. Senior Yadira Maldonado scored on a shot from the left of the box, and sophomore Hannah Wrinkle capitalized on a Sharyland High defensive miscue for a tap-in past the goalie to make it 3-0.
Because Hernandez viewed tonight’s game as preparation for district play, she took the opportunity to use her depth and put players in new roles. The leading scorer for Los Fresnos tonight was junior Briana Gracia, who scored twice off of set pieces.
“I believe it’s the first time this season she’s taken corner kicks for us,” Hernandez said. “And she was able to convert on those two corner kicks (in the second half) and score those two goals. I think even if the goalie wouldn’t have touched it, she would have had an Olympic goal (scoring directly off of a corner kick) on her own. I think she’s the player of the game.”
Senior Allison Spier, a defender who was named the MVP of District 32-6A last season, nearly had an Olympic goal of her own and got in on the scoring thanks to another well-executed Los Fresnos corner kick during the second half.
“This year we knew coming in it would be difficult because we have so many new players,” Spier said. “This game just shows how much progress we’re making.”
For a team that has rolled through its non-district schedule – its only test this season came via a lopsided 7-2 loss at McAllen Memorial, Los Fresnos kept its foot on the gas for all 80 minutes against Sharyland High.
“Today, our mentality was treat it like a district game,” Hernandez said. “We’re in it, we’ve got to win it and every game counts at this point.”