McALLEN — McAllen Rowe not only faced a perennially tough Edinburg North defense, but also a first-half wind that made long passes and shots often look like errant fireworks filling up the sky — doing no damage.
When the second half began, the North defense was just as stubborn and the wind that seems to make itself home at the McAllen Rowe soccer field was still there — now it was at the Warriors’ backs, and their cannon-like legs still filled the sky with shots, but this time they went in.
Ayloni Garcia and Camila Gil each scored twice during the first 20 minutes of the second half and Rowe captured a 4-0 win over North on Saturday, the final day of the 25th annual McAllen ISD Girls Soccer Showcase.
Gil started the scoring less than four minutes into the second half, getting the ball in the middle of the field about 25 yards from the goal. She turned to face the goal and found herself in open space. In one fluid motion she let her shot rip and Rowe led 1-0.
“Whatever opening I got, I just turned and shot,” Gil said. “I saw the gap on the side and just shot.”
Gil scored in Rowe’s 4-3 win over San Antonio Warren on Friday. Garcia was the only one to score in a 6-1 loss to power San Antonio O’Connor. Gil said she and the team learned a lot during the three-day showcase.
“Definitely saw that we have some specific things to work on like more pressuring in the back,” she said. “That first game against O’Connor gave us a pretty good wakeup call.”
Garcia, who hit the post on one attempt during the first half then hit the crossbar during the second half on another shot, scored the next two goals for a 3-0 lead. During her second goal, she chased the ball across the field with two defenders in pursuit, lost one defender when she stopped on a dime to reverse course, twinkle-toed around the other and let the shot fly for a 3-0 lead.
“I saw the ball crossing the field and I just said, ‘I have to get it,’” Garcia said. “I looked over my shoulder and the keeper was off line, so I flipped and shot it.”
In some ways, the wind was a detriment to Rowe in the second half as well. Mia Mata, Gil and other Warriors cleared the crossbar high on multiple occasions. Gil, who scored on a shot in the upper 90 on Friday from 35 yards, launched a free kick over the goal from more than 40 yards at one point — and everyone not only knew it was coming, but watched as the drama unfolded.
“We got the wind in our favor in the second half, and Camila would just look over the defense,” Garcia said. “This weekend was about teamwork and dedication. There are a lot of people on vacation, but these girls are still here and working hard.”
In other games Saturday, McAllen Memorial defeated Donna North 2-0, McAllen High and Corpus Christi Calallen tied 1-1, San Antonio Taft beat Los Fresnos 3-1, San Antonio Warren defeated Edinburg Economedes 10-0, Flour Bluff downed Harlingen South 3-2 and Harlingen High shocked San Antonio O’Connor 1-0.