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.”