BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

LA JOYA — The first half between La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and Laredo Alexander produced no goals but tons of hard work. The Huskies knew one goal might be enough to help them win their regional quarterfinal matchup on friendly turf at La Joya ISD Stadium on Friday.

Instead of just one goal, Juarez-Lincoln put in a trio of tallies to beat Alexander 3-0 in the third round of the Class 6A UIL playoffs.

Pricila Hernandez was the offensive hero who made the hard work pay off less than a minute into the second half. She sent two equally impressive long-range strikes past Andrea Gonzalez to cement their place in the program’s first sweet 16.

On the first goal that came 44 seconds into the second half, Amber Segura fed the sophomore a rolling pass that she teed up from long range. Her blast went post and past Bulldogs goalie, Andrea Gonzalez, who could only watch and hope the post rejected the attempt.

Hernandez’s first goal sent the crowd into a frenzy. The goal was just what the Huskies needed to keep up the momentum from a first half that it dominated on possession but couldn’t challenge the goalie.

“I was mad because we didn’t score in the first half, but then I was like, ‘We have to. We have everything,’” Hernandez said. “I just needed to make that shot and let it go in.”

At the second half’s midway point, Hernandez doubled the Huskies lead with a similar goal with a trajectory that Gonzalez couldn’t stop as it sailed top shelf.

“It was amazing because to me it doesn’t matter who scores. Everybody is a team,” junior Melanie Olivares said. “She’s a really close friend of mine and I really love seeing that adrenaline in her and her goals, her shots. Nobody can stop her.”

Doing the stopping defensively for Juarez-Lincoln were multiple members of a stingy midfield and defense. Freshman defensive midfielder Stephanie Jimenez was noticeable on the ball again, even more so when she was moved to forward.

Sophia Castillo served as the last line of defense before Huskies goalie Jennifer Perez. The junior was a brick wall as Alexander continued to probe on offense.

“As the last man, I am really proud to have my position,” Castillo said. “Overall, my job is to protect my goal and my goalie and that’s what matters most to the team.”

At the net, Perez never faced a shot that made her work.

Inside the final 10 minutes of the game, Castillo sent a corner kick into the box and Olivares was able to elevate and pad the Juarez-Lincoln lead to 3-0.

“We got more encouraged as the goals went in and kept getting better and better,” Castillo said. “It’s a really good feeling … to be a part of this history-making team. I’m speechless. It feels so great and it feels like my heart is going to get out of my chest.”

The Huskies move onto the regional tournament next weekend at Brownsville Sports Park. They are slotted to face Austin Lake Travis in the regional semifinals.

“I think more than anything we feed off of the positive energy that we’ve seen in the past,” coach Rick Garza said. “Hats off to our boys soccer program. It has always been an elite program within our school. I’ve had the opportunity to coach with coach Victor Ramos. This past year we took our girls to see our soccer boys play (in the 2018 regional tournament) and we have a clear picture of where we wanted to be and we’re achieving it.”

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VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER POSTSEASON SCHEDULE

Boys

Friday, April 5

Regional Quarterfinals

Class 6A

Brownsville Hanna 4, Harlingen South 2

Class 5A

Brownsville Veterans 2, Corpus Christi Veterans 1

Class 4A

Progreso 3, La Vernia 2

Saturday, April 6

Regional Quarterfinals

Class 5A

Valley View at Sharyland High, 6 p.m.

Girls

Friday, April 5

Regional Quarterfinals

Class 6A

Harlingen South 1, McAllen High 0

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 3, Laredo Alexander 0

BY NATHANIEL MATA STAFF WRITER

MISSION — The effects of last February’s UIL district realignment reached the field as the District 30-6A track and field meet kicked off Thursday morning at Tom Landry Hall of Fame Stadium.

Talent from district newcomers PSJA High and PSJA North made their presence felt, which made for budding rivalries and intense competition.

PSJA High senior Marco Guajardo scratched his first two attempts in the triple jump, but with one jump remaining to advance to finals, he made his next two count. His final preliminary jump was 44 feet and his only jump in finals was 45 feet, enough to claim the district championship.

“I always come in with the same attitude from the first jump to the second jump to the third jump,” Guajardo said. “You can shock somebody with one jump. You can always show everybody what you have and what you’re made of with that one jump.”

Complete results were not posted from the District 30-6A track meet by press time and will be published in Saturday’s edition of The Monitor.

Guajardo overtook last year’s champion Sebastian Gonzalez of Mission High, who Guajardo said, “Set the bar high.”

“I feel accomplished but I’m not done here,” Guajardo said. “I want everyone to know this is what I love to do and I train every day for it. Coming out here and winning means everything to me, especially in a great district.”

PSJA North senior Charlize de la Garza was wearing silver and black for the first time at a district meet after sporting the tricolors of Mission Veterans for three years.

She finished first in the high jump with a jump of 5-2 and was runner up in the pole vault in her first 6A meet.

“I miss my old teammates, but this year my teammates welcomed me as if they’ve known me for years,” De la Garza said. “It was my coach’s first year, too, so that made me feel better because I was like, ‘I can do this with her. It’s both our first year.’”

It wasn’t all PSJA schools at the pinnacle of the podium.

Aniah Chaleff-Reyna made school history once again as she set a McAllen High record in the long jump. Her jump of 17-7 1/4 was enough for not only first place but her fourth event in which she holds the Bulldogs’ record. The Baylor-bound senior also owns the quickest time in the 100-meter hurdle, 300-meter hurdle and triple jump.

She won the long jump after cutting herself on an early attempt. She continued to jump and compete in the prelims for her running events.

“On the first jump I spiked myself with three of my spikes,” Chaleff-Reyna said. “It kind of psyched me out a bit with my landings. I wasn’t landing correctly because I was scared of doing it again. On my last jump, I was able to land correctly.”

Long jump was just the start of her busy day. She said an early win helps keep the momentum strong.

“Whenever I win my first event, it gives me a lot of energy to keep on maintaining and winning other events,” Chaleff-Reyna said.

In the throwing rings, there were some familiar faces from longtime 30-6A programs earning repeat titles.

McAllen High seniors Tito Cantu and Benjamin Arellano finished gold and silver in the discus.

“It feels great going one-two,” Cantu said. “Ben, he works hard every day. Me and him we always push each other to our best. I’m really glad for him.”

Cantu suffered from a back injury during the football season. He said that hindered him in the early part of the track campaign.

“At the beginning of the year, I got off to a rocky start, but then I started training and got back into shape like how I was,” Cantu said.

La Joya High junior Alex Rodriguez made a statement with a prelims shot put throw of 59 feet that stood as the district winning distance. He is attempting to reach state for the first time after advancing to regionals as a freshman and sophomore.

“I felt good, had a couple misthrows, but otherwise it was a good day,” Rodriguez said. “I started in middle school and I kept on working hard through the years. I’ve seen a lot of improvement. I’ve had good coaches throughout the way.”

In the girls throwing events, two athletes walked away as first-time winners. PSJA High freshman Kaylah Hernandez continued her electric first high school season. She earned The Monitor’s Newcomer of the Year award on the basketball court. She played JV volleyball and is on the varsity softball team. On Thursday, she became a district champion shot putter.

“Honestly, yes, there was a lot of nerves coming in,” Hernandez said. “This is my first year doing shot put. My coaches let me and were like, ‘You can do this.’ They started working with me and I guess today came out with a new P.R. (personal record) and first place.”

Her throw of 34-3 was enough to edge McAllen Memorial junior Jacquelyn Douglas, who won the discus throw.

“I’m not even going to lie: I had a pretty bad practice week and was consistently throwing out of bounds,” Douglas said. “I just focused on shifting over in the ring. I was lucky on my very last throw and perfected my exit and popped a (throw of) 133 (feet).”

The meet wraps up Saturday with running event finals.

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BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

McALLEN — The Soto triplets have competed on the soccer field together for years. Long before they wore McAllen High’s purple and gold, the trio — Sophia, Andrea and Giselle — has been tied together by age and their love of the game.

That’s why Andrea’s second ACL tear, which took place over the summer, stung more than any loss on the field.

“When she got hurt, I was very upset because I didn’t get the chance to play with her last year as much, because she had torn her ACL prior to the second one,” Sophia Soto said. “This year is basically me just coming onto the field and doing as best as I can for her. I know that if she was able to play, she’d be giving her all and I want to do the same thing. I want to play to the best of my ability and I want to make her proud, because I know she made me proud.”

All three sisters contributed as sophomores when the Bulldogs won the UIL Class 6A Region IV tournament, the first Valley girls team to do that, and competed at state.

“Since we’ve been 4, we’ve been playing soccer together,” Andrea said.

“We’ve been inseparable,” Sophia added. “Same team, always together on the field. So it was a really big change when she got injured.”

While the injury took a physical toll on Andrea, the emotional effects of losing a teammate to a possible career-ending fall weighed heavy. McHi decided to dedicate the season to Andrea, and she was able to stay close as manager.

“My time has pretty much been the same as last year when I played,” Andrea said. “Even though I don’t get to play, I’m always at the practices. I always like to watch and help (coach Patrick) Arney in the best way I can, and I always travel with them. They are really good at making me feel part of the team.”

Sophia said that her sister’s injury changed her outlook on the game.

“I wasn’t really feeling it at the beginning of the year. I was kind of going with the flow,” Sophia said. “When she got hurt, I realized I need to really start taking advantage of this. I can’t take this for granted.”

Sophia Soto, a forward, has continued her torrid pace at the top of the McHi attack. Ava Alaniz, who battled injuries early, has approximately 20 goals, while Sophia is nearing the 30-goal mark.

Giselle Soto has slotted in the starting defender role and is giving her team stability from the back end.

“Watching them play together on the field is amazing,” Andrea said. “I know their weakness and strengths inside out. Watching Gigi go from midfield to defense this year, she’s definitely made to be a defender.”

She admits watching instead of playing is a different experience but appreciates the work her siblings put in.

“They just continue to make me proud and I’m glad I can give them constructive criticism, and they’ll take it from me as a teammate and not so much as a sister, but also as a sister,” Andrea said.

Arney, who has coached the Bulldogs since the program’s inception, said it was a tough pill to swallow but depth came from the same gene pool.

“She’s a good defender,” Arney said. “We had penciled her in to start this year. We were really looking to seeing her and getting her coaching. It was disappointing. The great thing, though? Necessity sometimes breeds success. So, Gigi, the other triplet, has stepped up at defense.”

As for the current playoff run, McHi is back in a familiar spot against a familiar foe, Harlingen South. McHi reached the third round of the playoffs with wins over Laredo United South and Brownsville Hanna. South reached the regional quarterfinals with victories over Donna North and McAllen Rowe.

The Bulldogs and Hawks have met three seasons in a row. McHi has won all three playoff games.

Even with that, the team knows its game must improve to replicate last year’s success.

“In the past two years, we’ve had to mature really quickly in the playoffs,” Sophia said. “This year, I think it’s the same for the freshmen. They’ve had to mature really quickly. We do have a lot of pressure this year because we went to state last year. This year, we have to realize we don’t deserve anything. We have to go out there and earn it.”

McHi and Harlingen South travel east to Brownsville Sports Park for the regional quarterfinal match. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. today.

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VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER POSTSEASON SCHEDULE

Friday, April 5

Regional Quarterfinals

Class 6A

McAllen High vs. Harlingen South at Brownsville Sports Park, 6 p.m.

Laredo Alexander vs. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at La Joya ISD Stadium, 7 p.m.

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS SOCCER POSTSEASON SCHEDULE

Friday, April 5

Regional Quarterfinals

Class 6A

Brownsville Hanna vs. Harlingen South at Brownsville Sports Park, 8 p.m.

Class 5A

Brownsville Veterans vs. Corpus Christi Veterans at Cabaniss Soccer, 8 p.m.

Class 4A

Progreso vs. La Vernia at Corpus Christi Calallen, 8 p.m,

Saturday, April 6

Regional Quarterfinals

Class 5A

Valley View at Sharyland High, 6 p.m.

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS SOCCER POSTSEASON SCHEDULE

Thursday’s Games

Bi-district Round

Class 6A

Brownsville Hanna 3, Edinburg High 0

Donna North 3, San Benito 0

Class 5A

La Joya Palmview 2, Brownsville Porter 1

Brownsville Veterans 3, Sharyland Pioneer 0

Class 4A

Grulla 2, Port Isabel 1

Friday’s Games

Bi-district

Class 6A

Harlingen South 3, Edinburg Economedes 2

Brownsville Rivera 3, Edinburg North 1

Laredo Alexander 4, La Joya High 3 (PKs)

McAllen Rowe 4, Laredo United 2

Laredo United South 1, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 0

Laredo LBJ 5, McAllen Memorial 1

Class 5A

Sharyland High 3, Brownsville Pace 0

Class 4A

Hidalgo 9, Raymondville 3

Progreso 4, Brownsville IDEA Frontier 1

Zapata 6, La Feria 0

Saturday’s Game

Bi-District 5A

Valley View 8, Roma 1

Monday, April 1

Area Round

Class 5A

Brownsville Veterans 5, Laredo Cigarroa 1

Tuesday, April 2

Area Round

Class 6A

Brownsville Hanna 3, Laredo United South 2

Laredo Alexander 3, Donna North 2

Laredo LBJ 3, Brownsville Rivera 1

Harlingen South 4, McAllen Rowe 1

Class 5A

Valley View 1, Laredo Martin 0 (OT)

Corpus Christi Veterans 2, La Joya Palmview 1

Sharyland High 7, Victoria East 2

Class 4A

Zapata 5, Corpus Christi London 0

Progreso 5, Yoakum 1

Gonzalez 1, Hidalgo 0

La Vernia 3, Grulla 2

VALLEY HS BOYS SOCCER BOX SCORES

Tuesday’s Game

Class 5A Area Round

SHARYLAND HIGH 7, VICTORIA EAST 2

Victoria East 0 2 — 2

Sharyland High 4 3 — 7

SHARYLAND HIGH (7): Aldo Rosales 2, Carlos Rodriguez 2, Alonso Gonzalez , Derek Garza, Alberto Martinez

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER POSTSEASON SCHEDULE

Area Round

Monday, April 1

Class 5A

Corpus Christi Flour Bluff 3, Brownsville Pace 2 (OT)

Victoria East 4, Sharyland Pioneer 1

Tuesday, April 2

Class 6A

McAllen High 1, Brownsville Hanna 0

Laredo Alexander 2, Edinburg High 1

Harlingen South 3, McAllen Rowe 0

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 4, Harlingen High 2

Class 5A

Gregory-Portland 3, Edcouch-Elsa 1

Corpus Christi Veterans 4, Brownsville Lopez 0

Class 4A

Rockport-Fulton 5, Edinburg IDEA Quest 3

Corpus Christi London 3, Hidalgo 1

Pleasanton 9, Progreso 0

Beeville 3, La Feria 0

VALLEY HS GIRLS SOCCER BOX SCORES

Tuesday’s Game

Class 6A Area Round

McAllen High 1, Brownsville Hanna 0

Brownsville Hanna 0 0 — 0

McAllen High 0 1 — 1

McALLEN HIGH (1): Ava Alaniz

BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER

MISSION — La Joya Juarez-Lincoln had more chances, more speed and the more dynamic offense when it went head-to-head with Harlingen High in the area round of the Class 6A playoff Tuesday night at Richard Thompson Stadium.

The Cardinals nearly neutralized all of those advantages, however, with a tight defensive structure that allowed them to take a lead in second half. Juarez-Lincoln was undeterred and exploded for three-second half goals to prevail 4-2.

Melanie Olivares scored to tie the game at 2, and Pricila Hernandez buried the go-ahead goal.

Huskies coach Rick Garza said his team had no panic even after Harlingen took its first lead 5 minutes into the second half.

“They know what they have. More than anything, they know the attributes that each one of them carries,” Garza said. “We’ve been in this type of situation before where we’ve gone up, we’ve gone back down and we were a resilient team where we were able to bounce back from that.”

Prior to the game’s first goal, Harlingen’s defense was deploying an offsides trap to perfection.

On numerous occasions, Juarez-Lincoln had multiple players behind the last defender. Huskies defenders and midfielders had to play a delicate waiting game to allow their attack to get back into position.

The side referee’s checkered flag stopped multiple chances, including a play that would have sent the quick Olivares in alone.

Olivares, who factored in once the team beat the trap, said it took some time before her team could attack at will.

“We made some adjustments,” she said. “As soon as they were screaming, ‘Go down,’ we would back as fast as we could, just like them. We would retain the ball, and as soon as they were get near, we would kick it.”

Eventually, the Huskies found their moment to shine with 13:28 to play during the first half. A passing play that went from Ashley Segura to Olivares and finally to Yulissa Ramirez, who had an empty net to finish.

Harlingen High didn’t take long to answer back. A minute and 33 seconds later, the Cardinals scored their first goal on a long blast from Gillian Cespedes. Juarez-Lincoln keeper Jenny Perez got a hand on the ball, but not enough to keep the shot out.

Harlingen, which knocked off District 31-6A champs Edinburg North in bi-district, took advantage of a mistake by a defender to score early in the second half. Monique Rodriguez had a lot of net to shoot and booted the ball past Perez.

The situation was looking grim for Juarez-Lincoln for a quarter of an hour. Olivarez was on and off the field with an apparent foot injury, and Harlingen continued to defend well.

Freshman Stephanie Jimenez, who showcased dribbling abilities for most of the night in the midfield, was unleashed for the Huskies. She nearly took the ball from the deep midfielder all the way for a score, but shot the ball just high.

Olivares returned to the game right on time to score. After receiving a hard pass, the junior had time to collect her footing and sprint to the goal mouth. She kicked the ball hard from in close, giving the goalie no chance and letting out a huge fist pump before celebrating with her teammates.

“It (my foot) was hurting a little, but this one person told me that it was all mental,” Olivares said. “I tried to put it aside. I tried my best. I gave my all. I was not going to let my team down, and that’s when the goal game.”

As the half continued, overtime seemed increasingly likely. Harlingen’s defense continued to battle and earn inside positioning. Cardinals freshman Carissa Escamilla was noticeable in the second half as she boxed out and kept Huskies forward from using their speed to beat her.

With less than 10 minutes to play, sophomore Pricila Hernandez took matters into her own hands. On a ball that was rolling back to the Harlingen keeper, Hernandez stuck a foot out to disrupt the normally routine play.

She was able to get around both defender and keeper to tap in the ball that would send Juarez-Lincoln to third round.

Three minutes later, a Jimenez centering pass was misplayed and an own goal gave the Huskies cushion to end the game.

Harlingen High coach Debra Galvan said she’s seen encouraging things from her program in three years at the helm. In back-to-back years, it knocked off two Edinburg foes — Vela last season and North in 2019.

“Seeing them grow, that’s the key for any coach,” Galvan said. “You just want to see your team growing every year. Last year we made it this far. We lost to McHi. This year, again, we made it this far and we lost. We’re hoping next year is the year we can go further.”

This Juarez-Lincoln group team is the first since 2012 to win a playoff game. It has a chance at making program history by extending that run, when it takes on Laredo Alexander, which eliminated Edinburg High 2-1 on Tuesday night, in the regional quarterfinals.

Olivarez is happy to help rewrite history and gain respect for the girls.

“As you see, we’re making history,” Olivares said. “Juarez was mostly known for guys soccer. We did not like that because the girls were put aside. Ever since June we’ve been working really hard to be where we’re at right now.”

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VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOCCER POSTSEASON SCHEDULE

Area Round

Monday, April 1

Class 5A

Corpus Christi Flour Bluff 3, Brownsville Pace 2 (OT)

Victoria East 4, Sharyland Pioneer 1

Tuesday, April 2

Class 6A

McAllen High 1, Brownsville Hanna 0

Laredo Alexander 2, Edinburg High 1

Harlingen South 3, McAllen Rowe 0

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 4, Harlingen High 2

Class 5A

Gregory-Portland 3, Edcouch-Elsa 1

Corpus Christi Veterans 4, Brownsville Lopez 0

Class 4A

Rockport-Fulton 5, Edinburg IDEA Quest 3

Corpus Christi London 3, Hidalgo 1

Pleasanton 9, Progreso 0

Beeville 3, La Feria 0

VALLEY HS GIRLS SOCCER BOX SCORES

Tuesday’s Game

Class 6A Area Round

McAllen High 1, Brownsville Hanna 0

Brownsville Hanna 0 0 — 0

McAllen High 0 1 — 1

McALLEN HIGH (1): Ava Alaniz