By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The Brownsville Porter Cowgirls’ season came to an end at the hands of McAllen Memorial in the bi-district round of the Class 5A playoffs Thursday.
The Lady Mustangs erased a two-goal deficit by scoring three goals during the second half to claim a 3-2 victory and advance to the area round. Porter coach Abraham Gracia was disappointed after the loss, but not with his team. He felt the officials played a part in the momentum swing that led to McAllen Memorial’s win.
“I’m not going to take credit away from McAllen Memorial, but (the officiating) turned the girls off. Some of the calls were obvious and even the audience saw it,” Gracia said. “I don’t like to blame the refs, but I’m just going to say it, every time with McAllen chapter it’s always the same thing. I wasn’t surprised, but I am disappointed because they’re supposed to be professionals, and in a playoff game you can’t be doing that. It’s not fair, but it is what it is.”
Brownsville Porter was aggressive and controlled possession during the first half to open a 2-0 lead. The Cowgirls were playing without standout midfielder Denisse Romero, who was injured in the season finale Monday, but freshmen Camila Minez and Edna Rodriguez stepped up and played well to fill her role.
Rodriguez showed off her ball control to get around defenders and send solid passes through to Minez and Azaneth Perez. Minez gave Porter a 1-0 lead midway through the half when she beat defenders after a corner feed from Rodriguez.
Perez extended the lead with 7:49 remaining in the first off a penalty kick. She won battles for possession and raced to the goal despite McAllen Memorial gluing defenders to her and often calling for a double team when the ball was directed her way.
Keenia Palacios, Angela Vallejo and Wendy Medina led a Cowgirls defense that kept McAllen Memorial’s scoring chances minimal in the first half. Liberty Garza helped Porter maintain possession and dominate the opening 40 minutes.
“Our passes were good (in the first half), and in the second half we did stop passing,” Gracia said. “McAllen Memorial’s a good team, but when the officials turn our team off like that, it’s tough for them to continue playing the way they were doing if the ref is not helping. … Our goalkeeper did a hell of a job. It’s tough to lose like that because I feel we got cheated, but maybe I’m wrong. I need to go back and see the video.”
The Lady Mustangs came out of halftime playing with more urgency. They competed better on 50-50 balls and slowed down Porter’s offensive attack. McAllen Memorial coach Matthew Kaiser credited Mia Honrubia for setting the tempo her teammates followed to get the comeback win.
“We come from a tough district and we’ve been in tough games all season. We were ready to compete in another tough game,” Kaiser said. “First half, (Porter) had some great moments, and at halftime I told the girls, ‘You have to believe that you’ll get your chances and the moments will come.’ That happened for us, and it’s one of those great things as a coach to keep the girls believing and hopeful, and see them go out there and make it happen.”
Nicole Menchaca, Sofia Alaniz and Madisyn Sosa were among a slew of Lady Mustangs who contributed to an improved offensive attack during the second half. Menchaca dribbled the ball efficiently down field and through Porter’s defense to set up scoring chances. McAllen Memorial was much more aggressive getting to the net in the second half.
Honrubia scored a pair of goals during a three-minute span to tie the game midway through the second. The first rolled off the hands of Porter’s goalkeeper to dribble into the net, and the second was on a penalty kick.
“We tried to play the middle a little bit more (in the second),” Kaiser said. “We saw in the first half where (Porter) was crowding our forward, our go-to girl, so we decided to try to get it back across the middle and get some shots on goal. It worked out for us. Mia Honrubia is a great player, always composed and calm and a great leader. When she plays well, the other girls feed off of that.”
The momentum swing was palpable after the Lady Mustangs tied things up. Frequent whistles against Porter caused the Cowgirls to look dejected, and their offensive attack was limited down the stretch.
With 2:32 on the clock, a string of good passes led to Bethany Garr slipping the winning goal to the left of the diving goalkeeper. Miah Zamora, Sydnee Baldree and Bailey Sullivan were solid defensively in the second and came up with clutch plays to keep the Cowgirls from putting together an offensive charge to tie.
“It’s special because last year, nobody got to play in the playoffs. We’re happy to just be here, and now it’s even better because we get to play another game,” Kaiser said.