BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
DONNA — The Donna North Chiefs attacked, pestered and penetrated the McAllen Memorial backline for the first 10 minutes of their non-district meeting Tuesday night.
In the 11th minute, the Mustangs foundation finally gave way and the Chiefs were off and running on their first of three tallies.
North prevailed 3-1 over Memorial on home turf on a crisp, damp evening.
Midfielder Arturo Gonzalez was short and to the point about what makes his team dangerous.
“We’re really good on attacking, we have really good strikers and midfield,” Gonzalez said. “I think that makes it hard for the opposing defense to stop us.”
On the Chiefs’ fourth shot in the opening three minutes, the team’s leading scorer Juan Mendez broke the scoreless tie. The goal came after Rigoberto Escobar had put a ball behind the keeper but just left of the goal post.
Unfortunately for Mendez, he was not able to finish the game due to an injury while attempting to cross the ball on the slick surface. He didn’t return to the match, but his pain came from his ankle and not the knee as initially feared.
Escobar, the team’s captain, said no matter who the team plays, an early onslaught is key to finding the twine first.
“Once we score the first goal we feel more comfortable, we have the ball more,” Gonzalez said.
Control was the name of the game for North. The Chiefs’ ball handling was surgical in the first 40 minutes of action. With 18:42 on the first half clock, Danny Trejo was able to find room between the legs of the Memorial goalie to double the lead.
Nifty footwork didn’t always turn into an offensive opportunity, but almost every successful skilled play did allow for more time and space for the dribbler. Passes made with both feet in the air and touches with much more finesse than power were commonplace for the Chiefs.
Chiefs coach Andres Sanchez explained after the game that much of his varsity group has been on the team since their freshman year, giving them three-to-four years of chemistry.
“We gathered more experience and better communication,” Escobar said through a translator. “We played better together as a result of all the games we’ve played together.”
In the first half, McAllen Memorial was unable to possess the ball for long enough to create sustained pressure or mount any dangerous attacks. Most of the difficulties on offense came from aggressive Chiefs defenders closing in on passes and limiting open field.
“It’s important because we don’t want any surprises at the end,” Sanchez said. “I think (Memorial’s) strength was their offense. They play really well from the midfield and up. The defense was the area we think we had the advantage.”
The Mustangs came out of halftime with sharper movement on offense and even a number of threats at ending the shutout. Chiefs’ keeper Jose Luis Mares and the defenders in front of him, however, were up to the task.
With 25:55 to play, Mares stuffed Jorge Torres’s chance right on the doorstep of the six-yard box. Less than five minutes later, Mares made a diving stop to preserve his clean sheet.
Diego Preciado came in to relieve Mares after the flurry of Mustangs chances.
With less than three minutes to play, the Mustangs found their offense. Omar Salazar headed the ball just out of the reach of Preciado.
Despite being outplayed for much of the match, the goal to make the game 2-1 gave Memorial new life.
The period of hope was cut short when Luis Olivas placed a chipped shot clean over the head of Memorial’s Santiago Guerrero, who was Gustavo Moreno’s halftime replacement in net.