BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Edinburg Vela forward Cherylen Chavez scored four goals — three in the first half — to propel the Lady SaberCats past the Edinburg North Lady Cougars 4-1 Tuesday night in a District 31-6A girls soccer match.
During a five-minute stretch late in the first half, Chavez, who had been bottled up by the Lady Cougars up until that point, exploded for three goals. Edinburg Vela went from trailing 1-0 at the 7:20 mark to up 3-1 with two minutes left before intermission. The senior added another goal in the second half to put the game out of reach.
“Even though I had three defenders on me, we were still able to cut through their openings,” said Chavez, who gave credit to her teammates’ pin-point passing and ability to get her the ball in the most opportune places.
The victory lifts Edinburg Vela to 6-2 in district play. Edinburg North drops to 3-5.
The Lady Cougars drew first blood when senior Itza Rios’ solid kick 10 yards in front of the goal ricocheted off two defenders and trickled in past Vela goalkeeper Julie Flores. It was Flores’ only flaw on the night. The Lady Cougars dominated play much of the first half and played solid late in the game.
However, their stellar defense began to crack late in the first half, and that’s when Chavez went to work. The speedster whipped a free kick into the net from the right wing 40 yards out to tie the game at 1. The looping shot at the 7:20 mark sailed over the goalie’s hands but just under the crossbar to find the net.
That was Chavez’s favorite goal on the night.
“Oh, it felt great. I knew it was going to go in. I knew it,” said the senior, who now has 24 goals on the year. “I was trying to get it over her head.”
She then connected on a penalty kick with 5:20 left in the first half before scoring the hat trick when she ripped a line-drive from 30 yards on another free kick, this time with just 2:00 left before half. Her final goal went on the board with 23:02 remaining in game, when she looped another ball into the net, but this time from the left wing.
Chavez could have had another goal, but she misfired on a penalty kick.
Her performance, Vela’s solid defense and some key injuries to Edinburg North’s starters were enough to rattle the Lady Cougars and stymie their offensive output. Vela coach Tonya Garcia she said the team must keep playing well moving forward to make the playoffs.
“I am very happy because they adjusted,” Garcia said. “They started out kind of slow, (like they were in) quicksand, but once they got their feet underneath them they realized they are a good team and started passing well, and we got the ‘W.’ So I am excited.”