Abby Rocha knocked in a header off a corner kick from Camila Gil during the 97th minute, as McAllen Rowe claimed a 2-1 victory over Brownsville Lopez in the UIL Class 5A bi-district playoff matchup.
Belinda Garcia scored for Lopez during the 19th minute on a header and Lopez kept the lead until Gil, a freshman, scored from 19 yards out on a free kick during the 66th minute to tie it.
It was Rowe head coach John Martinez’s 150th career win, and the fourth straight bi-district victory for the Warriors. Last year’s season ended before the playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had a corner kick and Camila placed it perfectly in the box and Abby came in with the game-winning header,” Martinez said. “The biggest goal of our season, for sure.”
Rowe was the third seed in district 31-5A. Lopez finished second in 32-6A.
There were three goals called off during the game, two for Rowe on offsides calls and one for Lopez on a foul called in the box.
“There’s been a few games where we’ve been down 1-0 at half, but we’ve stayed calm and collected and put the ball in the net,” Martinez said. “Sometimes we seem to take the first punch and then decide to start throwing punches. I believe we were in the toughest district in South Texas, not to take away from others but every night you’re going to have to battle.”
Rowe improved to 20-4-1 and will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Gregory-Portland at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the area round.
EDINBURG VELA 4, HARLINGEN SOUTH 1: At Harlingen, senior Taylor Campbell scored twice and the SaberCats earned their first win during the scoring phenom’s illustrious four-year career. Ky Richards and Rodriguez also scored for the SaberCats.
Vela was the top seed out of District 31-6A while South was the fourth seed in District 32-6A.
The win improves Edinburg Vela to 18-0-1 and winners of 14 straight. It was also the closest final score during Vela’s winning streak.
Campbell gave Vela a 1-0 lead during the first half. She drove into and past the defenders, finding herself one-on-one and “stuck my left foot in for the shot and it went into the left side of the goal,” she said.
“It’s great finally breaking our school’s history,” Taylor said. “We’ve been unlucky losing in the first round my freshman and sophomore year and I think this win just gave us the confidence to go into the next round with the right mindset.”
Vela will play the winner of Del Rio and Taft in the area round with details to be provided later.
McALLEN HIGH 2, EDCOUCH-ELSA 0: At Elsa, the undefeated McHi Bulldogs, the top seed in District 31-5A, scored twice in the second half to improve to 19-0 on the season. It also completed a bi-district sweep of District 32-5A in the process.
Chloe Fallek and Bailey Huston each scored for McHi.
“E-E played great, very defensive,” McHi head coach Pat Arney said. “Made scoring very difficult. We stayed calm, kept up the pressure and it paid off. It was a great shot by Chloe Fallek for our first goal.”
The Bulldogs will play Victoria West in the area round. West defeated Laredo Martin 1-0 in their bi-district matchup. Details of the match will be decided later.