By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Winter’s last stand brought winds and steady rainfall that blanketed the Harlingen mini-stadium on a chilly Tuesday night, and with it, the soccer gods delivered another Bird Bowl marathon.
After neither side could muster a goal in regulation or 20 minutes of overtime play despite a multitude of chances, Harlingen High prevailed 1-0, 3-2 in penalty kicks, over rival Harlingen South to preserve its hold on the top spot in District 32-6A.
Gianna Munoz, Jacqueline Vargas and Serena Escobar all tallied goals for the Lady Cardinals (4-1 32-6A) in the shootout.
Sandra Lopez and goalkeeper Joanna Marquez scored on penalty kicks for the Lady Hawks (3-1 32-6A).
Harlingen High goalie Erianah Zapata turned in another strong performance, making diving saves on shots from South’s Korynne Reininger and Kimberly Torres to set up Munoz’s clinching goal.
“(I have to give) props to (Marquez),” Harlingen High coach Debra Galvan said. “It’s the Bird Bowl, it’s a (rivalry game) so (each) team (was) going to come out strong. I think both goalies really showed up for this game, and that’s why the score stayed 0-0.”
The Lady Cardinals made several runs during the second half and forced Marquez to stray far outside the box to clear the ball out of harm’s way, nearly ceding an open net when Harlingen High went on the attack.
“Our defense showed up for us, their goalie showed up for them,” Galvan said. “That’s why it had to come down to PKs, and whoever got the most shots won.”
With 8:45 to go in the second half, Zapata denied a close-range look from Caroline Grannum, one of the best scoring opportunities South had in regulation.
At the five-minute mark, Escobar’s shot narrowly missed the net, sailing just past the left post.
With 1:50 remaining in the first overtime, Monique Rodriguez had another shot that just missed the post from 20 yards out.
Both teams came maddeningly close to settling the game in the second overtime period, but Marquez made a point-blank, one-handed save on Kay-Lani Vasquez with 5:40 to go.
Less than two minutes later, Lopez tried a long shot for the Lady Hawks that barely cleared the crossbar from 35 yards away.
With 1:15 remaining, Vasquez and several other Lady Cardinals were in the mix after a shot and a rebound led to scramble in front of the net that was halted when the South back line ultimately cleared the ball away.
“We’re hoping that we can start finishing (our chances),” Galvan said. “We’re there, we’re knocking on the door, we’re just struggling getting them in again. We’re hoping we can fix that by the start of the next round (of district games).”
Next up for Harlingen High is a visit to Brownsville Rivera. Harlingen South will host Brownsville Hanna. Both games are set to kick off at 5:30 p.m. Friday.