NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
DONNA — Donna North used timely goals to come from behind and defeat rivals Donna High 2-1 on Friday night at Bennie LaPrade Stadium.
Just two minutes into the second half, the Chiefs found the equalizer. Christopher Flores attempt a shot that that doubled as a pass to junior forward Rigo Escobar, who finished inside the near post.
“The intensity of our players — they never step down,” Escobar said. “They always keep their head up, and they wanted to win.”
His goal was the spark his team needed to play its best soccer and overtake hosts Donna High.
With eight minutes gone in the second half, Donna North’s aggressive play was rewarded when a harmless ball that seemed to be controlled by Donna High goalie Cristian Luna wasn’t corralled. Luis Olivas capitalized on the mistake with a goal that stood as the game-winner.
North coach Andres Sanchez said his team wasn’t overwhelmed by trailing at half.
“This team has been in that situation before against other great teams,” Sanchez said. “They always find a way. We always rely on that. It’s been proven before, and it was definitely proved today.”
The game was important not just because of the obvious crosstown meeting, but because both teams came into the game with individual 2-2 records in a strong District 32-5A.
“(Donna High) Coach (Guadalupe) Reyes used to be my assistant, so we have a good friendship,” Sanchez said. “We start the rivalry between 80 minutes we play here, and after that, we are the same community. I try to not put any more fire there. I try to keep them calm and tell them it’s important, like any other game. Whether it’s Donna, Mercedes or the Brownsville schools, we just have to come out there and do our job.”
During the first half, neither team had constant time on the ball. Instead, both sides sent long ball forward to look for cracks in the back line.
Donna High grabbed an early edge when forward Hector Torres took a low, hard shot with his left foot just 6 minutes and 17 seconds into the match.
The home side had chances to extend its lead, including multiple shots on goal from defender Victor Bravo.
Jorge Salinas and Angel Rodriguez were important pieces of Donna High’s runs toward goal. Many times, the duo provided beautiful service on long balls from the midfield, but their forwards couldn’t complete the fine plays.
Chiefs goalie Jose Luis Mares had to put the conceded goal behind him and come up big to keep his team within a single strike. The home side sent four shots on target after the opening goal.
On two occasions, those swinging centers turned into an adventure for Mares when he didn’t cleanly secure the ball. The first rebound opportunity was blown dead because of a foul. The second chance was also a foul, and play only resumed when the goalkeeper and attack got back to their feet after a hard play.
Mares, a sophomore, said that he had to start thinking positive to make better saves and help his team.
“At times, (I) was not sure that it was going to be possible to come back,” Mares said through an interpreter. “The team came with a good attitude and (I) was happy to come back.”
Escobar praised his goalie’s strong play in key moments as the game progressed and Donna High pushed to try to force overtime.
“He’s a really good goalie,” Escobar said. “He’s a (sophomore), and he’s the best goalie I have ever seen. That gave us the energy to keep playing hard.”
In the first half, Donna North’s Flores was creative with his runs. But once the team got into the final third, the offense had trouble executing and finishing.
North’s best two chances in the first half went just over the crossbar. First, a header after a corner kick that narrowly missed. Then, a screaming free kick by Escobar.
With two minutes to play in the first half, North forced Flores into action for the first time. The keeper was tested by a powerful free kick by Juan Perez, and he came up with a sprawling save to preserve the lead at the time.
Both teams are in action against stiff Brownsville competition next week. Donna North hosts Brownsville Veterans, and Donna High will welcome Brownsville Pace.