McALLEN — McAllen Memorial volleyball head coach Ashley Doffing wasn’t exactly thrilled to see her team fall behind early in the opening set of the Mustangs’ first two matches Thursday.

“Do I ever want to be down? No,” Doffing said. “To see the way they pulled together and come back strong shows to me growth, mental growth, and that will help us through the playoffs.”

The Mustangs went on to not just take the leads, but then cruised to victories in both matches and gained three wins overall after the first day of McAllen High’s 16th annual Poundfest Volleyball Tournament. Memorial defeated Brownsville Pace, PSJA High and PSJA Memorial to win their pool going into today’s second day of action.

Other pool play winners — all undefeated — included Sharyland High, McAllen High, Harlingen High, Los Fresnos and Edinburg Vela. Four of the teams are from a stacked District 31-5A while Harlingen High and Los Fresnos compete and are favorites in a top-heavy 32-6A district.

A second round of pool play begins today before the elimination bracket round Saturday. Play begins at 9 a.m. at all three McAllen school sites.

Memorial trailed Brownsville Pace 8-2 early and fell behind PSJA High for the first half of the first set before going on a 4-0 run highlighted by blocks from Alicia Ziegler and Leah Garcia to tie the match at 12 before downing Bears 25-21, 25-17.

Memorial, known for its powerful plethora of hitters, also used its block efficiently throughout the matches, oftentimes forcing hitters away from full attacks and instead looking to tip or roll shots over or around the blockers. However, with those blockers keeping hitters from the full range of field attacking, the Mustangs’ defense, led by libero Kassie Falcon, was usually prepared in the secondary line of fire.

Several Memorial starters have been part of the same group for three years, and Doffing said there is a little more pressure on them this season.

“We set the bar high last year, and the girls grew a lot,” said Doffing, whose team in Pool 3 is joined today by Vela, Harlingen South and Los Fresnos. “I’m interested and excited go see how they’re going to come in and how much growth there is for us to have.

“The first two years I told them y’all were babies growing into it, but now there is no excuse. Any and all excuses are out the door, and I need to see them grow into the player we expect them to be. We’ve gone from being a young team to the most seasoned team here. How will we step into that role and how will everyone fit into it this year? That’s what we’re looking for.”

Memorial and Edinburg Vela will kick off Day 2, Pool 3 action at 9 a.m. at McAllen Memorial (main gym). Other 9 a.m. contests include McHi vs. PSJA High (McHi main gym), Brownsville Lopez vs. PSJA Southwest (McHi back gym), PSJA North vs, PSJA Memorial (Memorial back gym) and Bastrop vs. Weslaco High (McAllen Rowe back gym).

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Sharyland High, ranked at one point last season in the state, ended up the odd team out when the postseason arrived.

That’s how competitive District 31-5A was last season, with five teams ranked at one point or another.

It’s not gonna be any easier this season after redistricting moved District 31-6A’sEdinburg Vela into the “Merciless District.”

Teams across the Valley took to the courts Monday as coaches got an official first glimpse with starting scrimmages this week and tournaments next week.

McAllen Memorial, one of the favorites this year in District 31-5A, actually started the day off on the track.

The Mustangs finished 11-3 and in second in district, twice falling to district champion Sharyland Pioneer and once to McAllen High. However, Pioneer, McHi and McAllen Rowe lost about 25 seniors to graduation, so there will be a lot of new faces.

Not so many newbies for Memorial, which returns standout hitters Amare Hernandez, Leah Garcia and Madisyn Sosa, among others.

“I had a lot of girls in the gym and working hard. That was very nice to see,” Memorial fourth-year head coach Ashley Doffing said. “Last year we were in one of the toughest in the valley and they doubled down.

“But it helps us prepare for playoffs. Valley teams are overlooked but now we are having big games all the time and it will help us. Some very good team will not make the playoffs in our district this year.”

Another veteran squad is Sharyland High, led by The Monitor’s All-Area Volleyball Newcomer of the Year, Kenisha Martinez. The Rattlers were 7-7 in district but 30-14 overall and defeated a state-ranked Corpus Christi Flour Bluff squad early in the season. Sharyland returns all six starters.

Sharyland High head coach Raul Castillo said the district will come down to who wants it the most, in areas like the mental game. His squad and Memorial faced off in club play a few times during the summer.

“Memorial is basically the same team and they are solid again,” Castillo said. “We both have big hitters and big defenders. We won some and they win some.”

But, even though McHi, Rowe and Pioneer lost much experience, Castillo said they can never be counted out.

“Those teams never rebuild and it’s nice for us to feel what’s that like this year,” the ninth-year coach said. “Sure they lost a lot of experience, but they also have a lot of skills and talent coming in always.”

Sharyland and the three McAllen school will scrimmage beginning at 9 a.m. Friday at McAllen Memorial for an early glimpse of what should be a highly intense season and race to the postseason.

Vela, which finished 12-3 last year and third in district, also has a solid group of returning starters.

Harlingen High is looking to defend its District 32-6A title after dropping just one match in district. The Cardinals are led by game-changing hitter Juli Bryant and will see some challenges from a tall Los Fresnos squad and Brownsville Rivera.

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PHARR — The final decision to bring the 2023 Western Athletic Conference swimming and diving championship to the Rio Grande Valley was made before the City of Pharr Natatorium was even complete.

That’s how sharp UTRGV’s proposal to host the event sat with WAC commissioner Brian Thornton and the rest of the conference decision makers.

“It was the vision sold to us by the administration,” said Thornton, who made his first trip to the Valley since being named WAC commissioner in November 2021. “Obviously this venue turned out better than our imagination could ever have been.”

The championships Feb. 22-25 will mark the eighth time UTRGV has been part of hosting a WAC championship-level event, along with the 2017 and the upcoming 2022 WAC volleyball championship, the 2017 and 2021 WAC outdoor track and field championships, the 2016 and 2019 WAC tennis and the 2014 WAC cross-country championships at Champion Lakes Golf Course.

Thornton spent Tuesday visiting with UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque along with several other officials and Valley residents, while also touring facilities such as Bert Ogden Arena, H-E-B Park, UTRGV athletic facilities and the natatorium.

“This has been fantastic,” Thornton said. “To have this facility here is an awesome opportunity for our student athletes not only because the venue is so fantastic, but also the opportunity for them to come to the Valley and see a part of the country most of them would not have the opportunity to have otherwise. We are so please to have this partnership.

The institutions competing in the 2023 WAC swimming & diving championships include Air Force, California Baptist, Grand Canyon, Idaho, Incarnate Word, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Seattle U, UNLV, Utah Tech and Wyoming.

“What hosting the WAC Championships does is shine the national spotlight on UTRGV, the City of Pharr, and the entire Rio Grande Valley,” UTRGV President Guy Bailey said in a Monday news release. “More importantly, it helps us to show our young people where swimming and diving can take them. If they work hard both in the classroom and the competition pool, they too can earn scholarships and compete in events like this in beautiful facilities such as the one here in Pharr.”

UTRGV will launch its women’s swimming and diving program in 2024 as part of a referendum passed by UTRGV students and then the UT board that, among other additions, includes football starting in 2025.

“When UTRGV joined the WAC the conference was far different that today,” Thornton said. “We are full of institutions that see the big picture and have the desire to compete at the national level. It’s also about our student athletes and the places they go — Seattle, Phoenix, Utah, Dallas, the Valley — they get to go all over the Western United States and would not have if not for athletics.”

“This has been extra special to be able to host Commissioner Thornton on his first trip to the Valley,” Conque said. “We have had several wonderful stops and I think he has been very impressed and has seen what makes the Valley so special.”

“To have this facility, one of the best in the entire country, is fantastic,” Thornton said. “I look forward to our institutions coming down here and seeing this facility and experiencing what the Valley as to offer.”

The WAC swimming & diving championships took place in San Antonio from 1996-98 and again from 2000-15, and in Houston from 2016-20 and again in 2022.

Additionally, legacy institution Pan-American University hosted the Texas Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (TAIAW) swimming & diving championships in 1974 and 1975. On those teams was diver Mary Jean (Jeanny) Neilson, who earned the first women’s athletic scholarship in department history in 1975.

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In the fastest race in the world this year, McAllen’s Shaine Casas captured a bonze medal for Team USA today during the 19th FINA World Swimming Championships in Budapest.

Casas’ time of 1 minute, 55.35 seconds in the 200-meter backstroke finals was 0.83 seconds behind four-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy, who touched the wall first in 1:54.42, the fastest time in the world this year. Great Britain’s Luke Greenback won the silver in 1:55.16. The times are three of the four fastest times in the world this year with Murphy also holding the second-fastest time.

Casas, a six-time medalist in the short-course world championships held at the end of last year, added to his medal collection and continued to secure his spot as one of the best swimmers in the world. During Thursday’s race, at the turn, Casas made the turn in 0.52 seconds while Murphy, along with Switzerland’s Roan Mityukov both turned it in 0.51 seconds. Mityukov finished seventh out of the eight competitors who advanced to the finals.

During the heat races Wednesday, Casas won his heat, touching the wall ahead in 1:56.66 while Murphy captured third during the heat in 1:56.96. Then, in the semifinals, Murphy’s time of 1:55.43 garnered him the top ranking for the finals while Casas held the sixth-fastest semifinal time of 1:56.90.

Casas, 22 years old and a McAllen High graduate, is also a three-time NCAA champion, swimming for Texas A&M. He announced his intentions last year to transfer to the University of Texas to compete but, after rethinking his decision, instead turned pro and be coached by legendary swim coach Eddie Reese. Reese is the head coach of the Texas Longhorns but also serves as coach to several professional swimmers. He coached the men’s U.S. Olympic team in 2004 and 2008 and has been an assistant coach at the Summer Olympics in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2012.

“I felt to get better that this was the best choice for me,” Casas said during an interview with The Monitor. “I plan to still get my degree but right now I want to focus on swimming and winning.”

After a disappointing showing at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Casas earned a spot for Team USA in the Short Course Meters World Championship in Abu Dhabi, held in December 2021.

He reached the finals in all eight of the events he competed in, winning medals in six of them including gold in the 100 short course meter back and the 4×50 short course medley relay. He also snagged three silver and one bronze medal.

Casas qualified for Team USA during the World Championship Trials in Greensboro, N.C. in the 200 backstroke. His time of 1:55.57 in the prelims of the 200 back was the fastest time in the world at that point. In the finals, Murphy, a four-time gold medalist, turned in a time of 1:55.01 to take over the top spot in the world. Meanwhile Casas improved on his prelims time, finishing in 1:55.46, the-then second fastest time in the world.

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McAllen native Shaine Casas advanced to Thursday’s 200-meter backstroke finals of the 19th FINAL World Championships in Budapest.

The former McAllen High and Texas A&M standout first won his heat in 1 minute, 56.66 seconds, .19 seconds ahead of Australia’s Joshua Edward Smith.He was .30 seconds ahead of Team USA teammate and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy in the fourth heat of the day. The top four in each of the four heats advanced to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Murphy dropped the lowest time of the day with a 1:55.43 to earn the top ranking going into today’s medal-round race, which wasscheduled to take place at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time, 8:01 a.m. Budapest time. Casas held the sixth best time in the semifinals with a 1:56.90. The top fourfinishers in each of the two semifinal races advanced to today’s race.

Casas, 22 years old, is a six-time world championship medalist and three-time NCAA champion. After a disappointing showing at the U.S. Olympic Trials,Casas earned a spot for Team USA in the Short Course Meters World Championship in Abu Dhabi, held in December 2021.

He reached the finals in all eight of he events he competed in, winning medals in six of them including gold in the 100 short course meter back and the 4x50short course medley relay. He also snagged three silver and one bronze.

Casas qualified for the team during the World Championship Trials in Greensboro, N.C. in the 200 backstroke. His time of 1:55.57 in the prelims of the 200back was the fastest time in the world at that point. In the finals, Murphy, a four-time gold medalist, turned in a time of 1:55.01 to take over the top spot inthe world. Meanwhile Casas improved on his prelims time, finishing in 1:55.46, the-then second fastest time in the world. Murphy’s semifinal timeWednesday is now the second-fastest time in the world this year.

Casas, who left A&M and turned pro earlier this year, barely missed on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games and took two months off of “doing nothing.” following what he calls the first complete failure of his stellar swimming career.

“I really had no experience in how to deal with that failure and that whole process changes any person. After that ,I realized that I was doing this wrong,”Casas said in an intervirewith The Monitor in May. “I decided to just get back in shape mode. Whenever you have a goal with no purpose, it’s going to behard to get to that goal. For a good bit of time I felt that I had lost that fire.”

Since his return, Casas has regained that fire and intensity to swim, compete and win.

“Maybe the biggest reason I’m happy is that I have more time to focus on who I am and why I love the sport so much. I’m confident and my mental state isgood. Life for me is swimming. It’s not about fame or clout. I’m swimming now because I want to. I want to win.

“Now I need to focus on the details and make sure my mental game is good, put it together and beat 99% of the other swimmers out there.”

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McALLEN — Big-time scorers can be found in every sport.

There are also big-moment players, those who rise higher as the stage gets grander.

Julianna Millin was both for the McAllen High girls soccer team this year.

Millin, a freshman, rewrote the McHi freshman record book and scored against the toughest competition, finishing her season by scoring in every playoff game this year, including collecting a hat trick in the area round against Corpus Christi Veterans.

Her high school soccer resume after one season would be impressive for even a multi-year veteran.

Because of her outstanding year, Millin has been named The Monitor’s All-Area Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

In a season where Millin scored 42 goals, doubling the McHi freshman record of 21, one specific goal stands out in her mind, the go-ahead goal against city rival McAllen Memorial as the teams battled to the district title all the way to the final games of the regular season.

“I was in a situation when I got the ball where nobody expected me to take a shot, and I saw that little tiny seam of space to take a shot and actually didn’t know if it was going to go in,” Millin said. “But I saw it as it bypassed two or three defenders, then I knew it was going to go in because the keeper hadn’t made a move.

“A big part of that had to be muscle memory. I didn’t register there were so many people in front of me. It maybe was kind of brash of me to take the shot at that moment, but it ended up working out for us.”

McHi went on to win the game, 4-2 and ended up winning its seventh straight district title.

While Millin proved to be a big scorer, she also proved to be a go-to player who made her goals count. She scored six goals and dished three assists against the district’s other playoff-bound teams, and found the back of the net for late game-tying scores against Los Fresnos, Alamo Heights, Rowe (twice) and Memorial.

She not only credits her coaching staff for helping making it a smooth transition for her as a freshman to the varsity squad but is quick to talk about how her teammates were very welcoming, especially the previous season’s leading scorer, Mallory Henderson, whose numbers were down on the scoring front, mainly due to the fact you could find her playing every position head coach Patrick Arney asked her to play. The lightning fast Henderson was part of a three-headed scoring monster still for the Bulldogs, and her speed and skills became even more valuable as teams adjusted their defensive plans and started double- and triple-teaming Millin.

“That first happened against Sharyland,” Millin said. “We hadn’t played them before, so I wasn’t expecting them to double team me and suddenly I was, like, ‘I’m gonna have to deal with this and get Bri (Briana Claudio) and Mallory involved as much as I can.

“The valuable thing about having so many great players on our team is that if they would cover Bri, Mallory or I would be open, if they covered me, Mallory or Bri would be open. It was difficult in the beginning, but once we got the chemistry down, we made the adjustment.”

A perfect example came on a beautiful score late against McAllen Rowe. With the game tied at 2 and less than 5 minutes remaining, Savannah Ruiz sent a laser sharp and accurate through ball to Millin, who saw Claudio making a run outside of the center backs and slipped her the ball for the go-ahead score.

Millin scored in 23 of the 26 games she appeared in, including 13 in a row at one point. She scored 27 goals in district, despite sitting out a half in seven different matches, and scored in 13 of 14 district games.

“This season was big for my personal growth and how I see the game,” she rising sophomore said. “Every season is a new step in my journey. What’s next is to do what it takes to make sure my season next year goes as well as this year, as well as having a very good club season.

“I set high expectations for myself, and I think the path I’m on is exactly where I need to be. Honestly, this was never really a me thing and all I wanted to do was help my team to get as good as we could possibly be. I just ended up having a pretty good season along the way.”

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Keyla Torres still becomes mildly upset when talking about a 2020-21 soccer match against Edinburg Vela.

“It was not good,” the now La Joya Juarez-Lincoln graduate said. “It made me feel awful.”

The SaberCats easily dismantled the usually battle-ready Huskies 6-0 en route to the District 31-6A title. It was already a down year for JL, and that whacking made it worse.

“They just kept scoring and scoring,” Torres said. “What is going on? We’ve never lost a game this bad.”

This year, the Huskies were back to their uber-aggressive and physical style of play. Some teams would walk onto the field, fear and trepidation already in their eyes before the match started.

Torres was a big part of that.

“We see that from some teams but we try not to be over-confident,” said Torres, who played mostly in goal the previous two years with Juarez-Lincoln, but was a defender her freshman year when the team advanced to the UIL Class 6A state playoffs Sweet 16. “We play like every team is coming with their all against us.”

The Huskies won this past season’s 31-6A title with a 15-1 record. They defeated Vela on the road 1-0 and lost at home 3-2. The Huskies allowed just nine goals in the 16 district matches, scored 62 and totaled 11 shutouts.

“The difference this year is that we were really committed to the season,” Torres said. “The year before we were in COVID and didn’t know what was going to happen, and we knew nobody would come see us.

“Everything changed this year, a lot of people were supporting us and we were more committed. We gave it our all; we gave more than 100% I feel. I just wish we could’ve gone farther.”

A rabid defender who sticks to her marks so tight that sometimes it’s hard to see where the attacker begins and Torres ends, the Texas A&M San Antonio commit says she would use every legal defensive tactic available to her to stop the opponent from scoring.

“I remember one time, it was just me and my goalie, and the girl from the other team got by me while we were running,” Torres said. “I thought about slide tackling her, but then I was worried about getting a foul in the box.”

Still, Torres’ defensive mindset took over. “Whatever turns out, turns out,” she said. “I took out the ball and they didn’t score. She was very (mad).”

While an unapologetic stalwart on defense, Torres also has a leg capable of damaging the opponents’ net as well. The center back scored a dozen goals on the season, most off of penalty kicks and free kicks.

The year almost didn’t happen. Torres said she really didn’t want to go back last year during COVID-19.

“I didn’t really want to play — it’s COVID and it’s not worth it,” Torres said. “But then coach kept calling and calling — ‘When is Keyla gonna come back and play?’ Then I did.”

Even so, she played half of those games in goal, but when head coach Arnoldo Cardenas came calling, looking for a defender, Torres answered.

“I always played defense since I started playing at 5. I liked it a lot,” Torres said. “Then I started playing goalie but coach needed a defender. I told him, ‘I can play it and I’ll try my best.’

“It turned out to be a good position for me and my team.”

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EDINBURG — Belen Santana learned at an early age what it means to “step up” for her team.

While in eighth grade when coaches asked who wanted to play in goal, there were no immediate takers — and then Santana came forward.

Now, the Edinburg North junior is The Monitor’s All-Area Girls Soccer Goalie of the Year.

“I enjoyed it right from the beginning,” Santana said. “I was never really afraid of the ball, and I’m pretty aggressive.”

Santana made a habit of showing up when the Cougars needed her most. During the 13th game of an 18-game season and a tight district race, Santana made two crucial saves during PKs after a 1-1 tie through regulation with city rival and District 31-6A power Edinburg Vela. Those saves were enough to give North the victory and two of the three available points.

It also came on her 17th birthday.

“It was a good feeling to beat our rivals and for me to play a big part in that,” she said. “That’s something you can get (as a birthday gift).”

North finished the regular season with 30 points, tied for third with Edinburg Economedes and one point ahead of Edinburg High, for the fourth and final district playoff spot. North went on a run after that match, winning four of its next five games – three by shutouts. The only loss came to district champion La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.

Santana, who compiled 73 saves and five clean sheets during the season, attributed much of her and her team’s success to communicating — and a no-fear mentality.

“If you don’t communicate you won’t win, so I would talk to them as much as possible and they would communicate with me as well,” she said.

“When I’m in a 1-on-1 situation, I don’t get scared — I get that typical adrenaline kicking in. I start thinking about what I can do to be in the best position to block a shot and watch the player to see their body language, to see if they’re scared and if they’ve moved a little too far one way to know when to come out completely.”

She’s also overcome the fear or worries of giving up a PK.

“I used to get scared of those, but over time I accepted the fact that you can’t save them all,” she said. “I’m usually calm now and realize you can’t do much sometimes about a heck of a shot. You can’t save them all. I just honestly wait for them to shoot and let my reactions do the rest.”

Her plans as she prepares for her senior year are to work on her jumping, both vertically and horizontally, to be able to reach farther and increase her vertical to stop more high balls.

“Goal is first to pass my classes to keep playing but also hopefully to get a scholarship,” she said. “I’m going to work as hard as I can on my flaws and, hopefully, get on a travel team, to get noticed.”

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McALLEN — McAllen Rowe girls soccer head coach John Martinez had a wildcard up his sleeve this year for every match — that was Camila Gil.

The sophomore was an offensive force, for one. She scored 27 goals and dished out 34 assists. But she didn’t do all that damage from playing up top. She played, scored and was a major threat from everywhere Martinez needed her.

Because of her ability to be a game-changer as a forward, midfielder or defender, Gil has been named The Monitor’s All-Area Girls Soccer Utility Player of the Year.

“She’s definitely an amazing talent, and she had the attitude that she would play wherever would be best for the team,” Martinez said. “Having a girl like that, with that mindset and talent, is special. I’m glad she plays for us.”

Rowe finished the season with a 9-2-3 record in a district in which first and fourth places were separated by just three points. Gil had a major part in keeping it that tight, especially in the District 31-5A opener against city rival McAllen High. With less that 10 seconds remaining in the first half, Gil, playing defense, took a free kick from about 45 yards and precisely placed it on the top back corner of the net, giving her team a 1-0 lead.

The Warriors ended up winning 2-1 on penalty kicks.

“I saw the keeper was too far up and nobody was covering the back post,” said Gil, who was The Monitor’s All-Area Newcomer of the Year last year. “At first I thought it would land in the penalty box for someone to tap in, but I had enough power behind it.”

Gil finished her freshman season with 35 goals, playing more of her time as a forward. Seemingly that would be the spot for her to continue playing but, Martinez said, as good as she is in that position, she was even more valuable in the middle or, especially, in the back.

“Camila is an elite defender, and her work ethic is incredible. She’s out training it seems every day,” Martinez said. “She wasn’t only scoring still but she was also distributing and getting everyone else involved. But at the next level, she’s going to be a defender. She’s at another level there.”

Gil said her goal before next season is to work on her quickness, especially without the ball, as well as getting stronger physically.

She said having to move around a lot took a toll on her, but she wanted to do what’s best for the team.

“There were different amounts of running and different conditioning needed for the positions,” she said. “Coach would say I’m helping the team in more ways than I could see. I just kept remaining myself of what I needed to do and got into it.”

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McALLEN — Bailey Sullivan lined up her corner kick and let the ball fly toward the penalty area. Bodies collided, fighting for position, a standing version of a rugby scrum. Chloey Mejia emerged from the pack and, in a blink, headed the shot into goal.

There were only five minutes remaining and that goal broke a 1-1 score with Sharyland High in a crucial early season District 31-5A battle between two perennial postseason teams. That goal was also the difference maker as the Mustangs captured a 2-1 victory.

Mejia also scored the team’s first goal.

Welcome to varsity little fishy, a term of endearment Memorial veteran players would often use to address the freshmen.

Mejia’s goal was one of 27 for the freshman during district play, helping lead the Mustangs to second place in a tight and uber-competitive District 31-5A and a spot in the Region IV-5A quarterfinals. Her performance has earned her The Monitor’s 2021-22 All-Area Girls Soccer Newcomer of the Year.

“We struggled in preseason with injuries and COVID,” Memorial head coach Matthew Kaiser said. “After that game, though, we knew. We knew things were coming together and we could be in the game with anyone.”

A skilled player already as a freshman, Mejia said she had to quickly adjust to the speed of the sport at the varsity level, competing against girls as many as 3 or 4 years older.

“In the beginning, there was a little bit of pressure being part of a new team,” Mejia said. “But my teammates made it easy to get along.”

Playing perennial Class 6A power Los Fresnos in her high school debut made adjusting quickly a necessity. The Falcons scored 61 goals on the season, fourth in the Valley (and gave up only four). Memorial, with a plethora offensive weapons, ended with 70 goals, second in the Valley.

“For that to be my first game ever in high school soccer, it was a rough one,” she said. “It was so quick, it really was an eye opener. I had to adjust really quick, and the older girls helped me get used to my position on the team.”

Not only were the physical challenges greater, but the sport’s mental challenges were also on a different level. For someone whose specialty since a young age was scoring, much of the pressure, especially for a “rookie” was to take the shot or not.

“I had struggles in the beginning. I didn’t feel comfortable and wasn’t in the right mindset sometimes. I don’t know if I can take the shot, I don’t want to waste it,” Mejia said.

Kaiser specifically remembers one conversation early in the season with his young prodigy, helping guide her through soccer’s growing pains.

“I told her nobody cares on the team that you’re a freshman and nobody cares on the other team so the pressure’s off,” Kaiser said. “You’re a starter and you need to produce and do what’s expected of you from your teammates.

“You just have to struggle through it and learn on the fly. There’s no way to speed up the process. Just work, struggle through it and get better.”

She not only got better, but she’s not a little fishy anymore.

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