By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The soccer season has become quite a survival test for the Porter Cowgirls, who are trying to reach the playoffs for the first time.
The Cowgirls came into Tuesday’s District 32-5A match against PSJA High knowing they had to win and then win again Friday at home against Mercedes to have a chance to qualify for the postseason.
The Porter girls (8-5, 24 points) completed Phase 1 of their playoff plans Tuesday by defeating the Lady Bears 3-0 at Brownsville Sports Park . They’ll play last-place Mercedes at 8 p.m. Friday at Porter.
The win didn’t clinch anything,it just kept the Cowgirls’ postseason hopes alive.
“We’re still in the hunt for it,” Porter coach Abraham Gracia said. “Hopefully we can make it.”
The Cowgirls led 1-0 at halftime on a converted penalty kick by Priscilla Cortinas just eight minutes into the match.
Porter’s Marcela Galvan gave her team a little more cushion when she made it 2-0 on a high-arcing shot from the left side that found the right corner of the net 15 minutes into the second half.
With one minute remaining, Sheila Dominguez launched a long, high shot that hit the crossbar and went in to complete the scoring, allowing the Cowgirls to come away with a 3-0 triumph over the Lady Bears (1-12, four points).
“Our girls started playing a little bit better in the second half,” Gracia said. “They started showing that they wanted it a little bit more. I still think they can play a little bit better, but it’s up to them.”