By NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — La Joya Juarez-Lincoln and McAllen High’s girls soccer teams met on the pitch for the second time this season Monday.
Just like the first clash of District 30-6A giants, the match did not disappoint. Even with a single goal in 80 minutes, the tempo was fast-paced and the skill level was an indication that RGV girls soccer is entering a new echelon.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (12-1, 35 pts) was able to hang on and shut out McHi 1-0 behind a goal scored 12 minutes in by sophomore Pricilia Hernandez on a free-kick.
With the win, the Huskies snapped the Bulldogs’ district winning streak at 50 games, dating back to March 2015.
Hernandez, who is one of Juarez-Lincoln’s key cogs on offense, wasn’t in action first game when McHi (12-1, 36 pts) outpaced the Huskies 3-0.
“Last game, I didn’t play. I was in the hospital because something about my muscles,” Hernandez said. “I had to rest for like a month. I haven’t been running a lot, so I’ve been out-conditioned.”
As the game went on, Hernandez had issues with cramps, which forced coaches to sub her out three different times, prompting accusations of time-wasting from the McHi crowd and sideline.
Juarez-Lincoln took advantage of their dominance on the ball from the first whistle. During the seventh minute, the Huskies already manufactured a chance inside of the box.
McHi keeper Lexi Gonzalez was able to keep Amber Segura from scoring early. During the ninth minute, Hernandez juggled the ball off her knee to control before wiring a shot just wide of Gonzalez.
With 28 minutes to play in the first half, the Huskies turned the early pressure into a lead. After a foul just outside of the area captain Ashley Segura and Hernandez stood over the ball waiting for the refs whistle.
Once it blew Ashley Segura teed the ball up for Hernandez, who hammered the ball off the hands of Gonzalez and into the net.
“Our first key was to work together as a team, like we have always (done) since the beginning of the season,” Ashley Segura said. “That has been our key to beat every team. We have a lot of individual talent but individually we couldn’t beat them. I think everything was done collectively as a team.”
McHi took some time to find offense.
A normally dominant Bulldogs group was challenged when sending long passes to their forwards. Freshman defender Stephanie Jimenez often won races to the ball and put a hard boot to clear the ball on many occasions.
Defense was important but goaltending was crucial as Juarez-Lincoln clung onto the lead. McHi junior Sophia Soto had the Bulldogs best chance of the first half.
With 11:30 to play in the first half, Huskies keeper Jenny Perez made a 1-on-1 save against Soto on a chance where the Juarez-Lincoln defender fell in the box.
Perez, who was celebrating a birthday, said she didn’t want to leave the parents’ night crowd down.
“It’s my birthday. I needed to do my best. I didn’t want them to score on me,” Perez said. “I got scared to be honest (on Soto’s shot). I needed to use my reflexes. I was like, ‘It can’t go in,’ so I went on my knees. It hit off my knees and it hit right off my knee and went out.”
As the game went on, McHi’s Ava Alaniz was the primary target as the Bulldogs pushed for a goal. The University of Houston commit is tough to take off the ball, but the Huskies were up for the challenge, poking the ball away or limiting space for the crafty forward.
In the final 15 minutes, McHi’s pressure reached a fever pitched.
First, a shot was blasted just high from in close, then Mallory Henderson was bumped inside of the penalty area, but the contact was not enough to draw a whistle.
The Bulldogs final effort came with five minutes, when Perez was forced to make two saves after she coughed up a rebound on a kick from distance. Soto was the forward in close that was denied.
Juarez-Lincoln is still a point behind McAllen High, but coach Rick Garza knows that a win over last year’s regional champion goes a long way in the team’s future.
“It’s huge,” Garza said. “When we’re able to compete against a very successful like McHi, go toe-to-toe with them and come out with a victory it’s a huge momentum builder, especially going into the playoffs. I asked our athletes since day one of our practices, ‘Do you want to be a team that’s just average or a team that’s above average?’ And every day that’s what we strive to work on.”