By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN – Harlingen High generated several chances during the first half of Tuesday’s District 32-6A game against Brownsville Hanna, and had nothing to show for it heading into the break.
Despite trailing by one goal for nearly 60 of 80 minutes played, the Lady Cardinals rallied behind a goal and assist from Kay-Lani Vasquez for a 3-1 victory to pull even with Rivera at 2-0 atop the district standings.
“We knew we had to come out strong and be the first to every ball,” Harlingen High coach Debra Hernandez said of her team’s improved play during the second half. “Every girl played the way we asked them to play, and they played well.”
With 21:04 to play in the second half, Vasquez broke away from the pack to find herself all alone with Hanna goalkeeper Karime Martinez and gently tucked the ball into the back of the net for an equalizer.
At the 17:38 mark, Vasquez dropped a dime right to the boot of Maya Quinonez in stride, and she finished the play with a flourish to give the Lady Cardinals a 2-1 lead.
“I saw that (Quinonez) was open,” Vasquez said. “I (knew) she had the speed and she’s very consistent with the ball, so I knew if I passed her the ball I could trust her to score.”
Vasquez nearly had her second assist when she set up Alexa Gonzalez for an uncontested shot in front of the net that ricocheted off the lower side of the crossbar with less than 10 minutes to go.
Gonzalez got her chance moments later, when a long shot saved by Martinez was dropped in front of the goal and Gonzalez poked the ball through the five-hole to give the Lady Cardinals a commanding two-goal advantage.
“I loved the goal that (Gonzalez scored),” Vasquez said. “She tries very hard, and I’m glad she got one in. I was very excited for her.”
At the 19-minute mark of the first half, Hanna’s Ana Barragan was awarded a penalty shot, which she buried after Harlingen High keeper Erianah Zapata deflected the ball into the net.
Zapata, though, was steady throughout the game and stepped up to make two crucial saves in the first 10 minutes of play, one of which was against Barragan.
Hernandez said she was proud of her goalie’s quick acclimation to a position that was unnatural to her, and noted that several other Lady Cardinals have made similar adjustments due to injuries to key players during the early part of the district slate.
“(Zapata) has really taken to that position,” Hernandez said. “The defense is starting to trust her more. … We think she’s only going to get better with every game.”
She also was clutch in the game’s late stages, making a two-handed save at the 9-minute mark of the second half on a close-range blast and keeping the ball in safely in play without allowing another chance on a rebound.
Hernandez commended Quinonez for her role in aiding Zapata’s second-half clean sheet.
The freshman defender has been one of Hernandez’s most reliable contributors.
“We did whatever we could to score, and if it meant sending some defenders up to help and try to score, that’s what we had to do,” Quinonez said. “During halftime we got a pep talk and we came out with a hunger to score goals.”
The Lady Cardinals had several near misses during the first half, including a shot by Quinonez with 25:30 to play that rang off the crossbar and came back into play in front of the net, but the Lady Eagles prevented a second chance shot off of the rebound.
With 13:54 to go, Vasquez had an open shot that she hooked left of the goal from 25 yards out.
Likewise, Hanna had its share of missed opportunities toward the end of the first half.
At the 3:30 mark, Barragan had a point-blank chance to put her team up two goals but missed wide left, and was denied by the crossbar on another shot that led to a rebound and a second chance on a corner kick with less than one minute to go in the half, but the Lady Eagles failed to cash in.
Next up for the Lady Cardinals is a visit to Los Fresnos. The Lady Eagles play host to San Benito. Both games are slated to start at 5:30 p.m. Friday.