McALLEN — With 1:46 left in regulation, PSJA Memorial’s Jovanny Balderrama took control of the ball just outside the box.
After creating some space, Balderrama fired off a 30-yard strike past the goalkeeper to give the Wolverines the lead late during the match.
With 12 seconds left, the Mustangs made one final attempt to tie the game. Following a throw into the penalty area, a group of Mustangs attempted to head the ball into the goal.
The attempt sailed wide left and out of bounds, as the Wolverines held on for a thrilling 2-1 victory in the District 31-5A regular-season finale Tuesday at McAllen Memorial High School.
The Wolverines went into the game in fourth place, trailing the Mustangs by one point in the standings. With the win, the Wolverines jumped into third place in the district, dropping the Mustangs to fourth.
“We have been telling our boys that every game we play is a big game,” Wolverines head coach Javier Gonzalez said. “Finishing off district with a win was very important to keep ourselves motivated for our playoff game. In our first matchup, we had five starters out. I knew that with a full team the game could go our way.”
After a scoreless 29 minutes to open the match, the Wolverines’ Jesus Flores broke the tie, putting the ball through the middle of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Late during the half, the Mustangs’ Marcos De La Cruz knotted the game up, muscling past a Wolverines defender before ricocheting a shot off the goalkeeper’s gloves and into the net.
The Wolverines held off multiple Memorial attacks during the second half, including a diving save with 12:38 left in regulation by goalkeeper Esdras Rivera, who was the last line of defense for the Wolverines, coming away with a 2-1 victory.
The Wolverines go into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the Valley, winning five of their final seven game while climbing up to No. 3 in the district.
“This season hasn’t been a normal season, not even close,” Gonzalez said. “We didn’t start practice until Dec. 7. Most of the boys weren’t even playing in leagues before that. It took time to get them up to speed. We practiced four days and had our first scrimmage. As the days and games went by, our players started to get used to the game plan and we started getting better outcomes.”
The Wolverines (7-3-4) await the end of District 32-5A play, facing off against the runner-up in the first round of the playoffs at a time and date TBD. Meanwhile, the Mustangs (7-5-2) open the postseason against the District 32-5A champion at a time and date to be determined, as well.