McALLEN — McAllen High senior Ava Alaniz scored her first goal when she was 4 years old.
These days, Alaniz can’t recall how many goals she’s blasted past goalkeepers over the years. But her work, nonetheless, has been enough to grab the attention of the University of Houston woman’s soccer program, which offered her a spot on its roster.
“I enjoy passing and distributing the ball,” Alaniz said. “But, obviously, I really like to score.”
After making a verbal commitment with the school in 2018, Alaniz made her commitment to the Cougars soccer team official at her college signing day celebration Monday at McAllen High, sharing the moment with her friend and longtime teammate, Westyn Henderson, who also signed her letter of intent to play soccer for Texas A&M.
“It meant everything to have all my family and friends here and all my teachers here supporting me,” Alaniz said about her signing day celebration.”
Alaniz began generating interest because of her offensive style of play after attending soccer showcases around the country and other elite girls club soccer events. By her freshman and sophomore seasons, the University of Houston had begun recruiting her.
The McAllen High midfielder is two seasons removed from her stellar 2018 campaign in which her late goal during the regional final beat powerhouse Austin Lake Travis and vaulted the Bulldogs into the UIL state tournament — the first Valley girls soccer team to ever make it that far.
“When we made our run to state, Westyn made the pass to Ava to make us go to state,” McAllen High head coach Patrick Arney said. “It’s nice for me as a coach to be able to rely on them and get the job done.”
Alaniz joined the McAllen High soccer team as a freshman and has help lift the team to three consecutive District 30-6A titles since 2016.
“They are like a one-two punch,” Arney said.
Alaniz and Henderson are the first players to come out of the McAllen High girls soccer program and make the jump to a major Division I college soccer program.
“This is special,” Arney said about his players signing day. “A&M is a top five team and Houston is an up and coming, so I couldn’t be prouder.”