MISSION — McAllen Memorial head coach Matthew Kaiser likes to “release” forward Bethany Garr.
Her “release” translated into three goals and an assist — along with multiple other offensive attacks — Tuesday morning as the Mustangs rolled to a 7-0 victory over Sharyland Pioneer in the teams’ final District 31-5A match of the season.
The win pushed Memorial to 10-2-2 in district play and with 33 points, atop the district, prior to McAllen High’s game later Tuesday against Valley View. If McHi wins, the Bulldogs will clinch their seventh straight district title.
Memorial scored three times during the first 20 minutes of the first half, Garr putting in a rebound off a save after teammate Madisyn Sosa fired the shot on goal. The Mustangs played to near perfection, showing their speed, ball handling skills, passing and ability to dribble the ball up the middle, deep into Pioneer territory.
It’s a different Memorial team than the one early in the season, where long-balls and counter attacks were more prevalent. Now it’s a team with the same number of weapons, but weapons used more frequently and in abundance. The 70 goals scored in district play are tied with McHi prior to the Bulldogs’ game later Tuesday against Valley View.
At the Memorial forefront sits Garr, a senior captain, who has 15 district goals and 19 overall for the season, second on the team to freshman sensation Chloey Mejia.
“We had key players come in this year and at the start of the year we were adapting to playing with a new center of the field,” Garr said. “We’ve adapted to it really well and we’re not just playing long balls. More room is opening up and we’re not having to run as long and that’s a good thing.”
“She is a phenomenal athlete; she’s all hustle and muscle. That’s her style. There’s no stop, there’s no governor on her,” Kaiser said of this three-year forward. “She’s all-out all the time. She’s a very consistent and dependable player and she never runs out of gas.
“She creates moments for herself with her burst of speed and a real hunger to go and score. Not everybody has that. Sure, they like to score but don’t have the hunger to make it and create it. It’s nice to release her and let her go do her thing.”
Garr wasted no time doing her thing throughout the first half as she streaked down the sideline time and again, beating her defender(s) with speed and grace, with or without the ball. She took multiple runs for shots on goals or crosses, like the pass she delivered to Sofia Alaniz-Choy, leading her perfectly to launch a shot during the ninth minute, giving Memorial a quick 2-0 lead.
“She’s always going to be there,” Garr said about Alaniz-Choy. “I know that’s where she’ll be and she was.”
Garr followed that with a beautiful crossover move, leaving a pair of defenders stumbling and a step behind, which was more than enough room to power in another goal, with 20:07 remaining in the half for a 3-0 advantage.
“They had one of their defenders trying to clear it, but it bounced of her thigh and I got it and drove it into some space,” Garr said. “I saw two girls in front of me and I cut back and found myself in the middle of the goal.
“You never know how much space you’re going to have until you look up and I was at kind of close and had confined space but I knew it was my chance.”
Mejia scored the final goal of the half, dribbling the ball deep into Pioneer territory, one-timing the ball from right to left and ripping a shot from 25 yards into the back of the net.
“The goal is to always play ahead and set the tone,” Kaiser said. “There was a concern with it being Spring Break and a morning game so let’s not wait until halftime. You’ve got to play the game and never take anybody for granted.”
Garr, Sosa and Mejia all scored in the second half.
“We’ve developed into a more diverse style of play and can do more than just one thing. We’re not just a one-trick pony,” Kaiser said. “We need to be able to do different things and take what other teams give us. If they give us space, take it but when we play a team like Rowe or McHi, get rid of it because they will pressure you right away. We want them to see how different teams play and make adjustments.”
Memorial will more than likely play Donna High in the bi-district round of the Class 5A playoffs. The Bravettes finished third in District 32-5A. Details have yet to be announced.