BROWNSVILLE —Donna North scored twice in six minutes during the second half and the Chiefs defeated the Brownsville Veterans Chargers 2-0 during a District 32-5A match Friday at Charger Stadium in Brownsville.
The victory gives the Chiefs sole possession of third in the district, holding a one-point advantage over the Chargers with 25 points. The Chargers sit in fourth with 24 points.
“(Brownsville) Vets is a great team,” Donna North head coach Andres Sanchez said. “Coming out here and getting this win is a big plus for us. We did have a few issues earlier in the season, and it put us in a tough situation. I think we had a strong team at the beginning but just a lot of injuries. That made it difficult, but we are closing the season strong, which is the right time.”
Goals were hard to come by during the first half, with the teams playing to a scoreless draw after 40 minutes.
The Chiefs flipped a switch 10 minutes into the second half when sophomore Richard Martinez delivered a pass down the right sideline to a streaking Jacob Villarreal.
Villarreal received the past in stride, blowing past the defense to create an opening before sailing a shot across the box and into the top left corner of the net for the goal.
The Chiefs continued to apply offensive pressure following their first goal, looking to add another. Lightning struck again six minutes later, with junior midfielder Christopher De Leon squeezing through two defenders into a wide-open space right outside the box before delivering a strike down the middle of the net to make it 2-0.
“I saw that open space and just tried to get to that space,” De Leon said. “I was able to squeeze through the defense with the ball. From there, all I had to do was get the shot off and I did.”
The Chargers attempted to claw back into the game during the final 10 minutes, nearly getting on the board off a direct kick from the top of the box, but Donna North’s Edson Balderas denied the shot to keep them at zero.
Another direct kick from just outside the box presented itself to the Chargers with less than a minute remaining, but once again the Donna North defense held firm to secure the shutout and the victory.
“We studied our last game against them,” Sanchez said. “They did a lot of damage against us on the sidelines that game, so we adjusted our defense to that. The kids addressed those issues we had in that first round match against them. We held our ground and we waited for our opportunities, and made sure to put them in when we had those chances. That was the difference.”
The victory puts the Chiefs in control of their playoff destiny, holding a four-point advantage over fifth-place Harlingen South and a five-point advantage over sixth-place Brownsville Pace.
The path to a playoff berth won’t be an easy one, with two of their last three games coming against first-place Brownsville Porter and second-place Brownsville Lopez.
“We talked before the game about how important this game was going to be for us, along with the following three,” De Leon said. “It is an honor and good timing, beating Brownsville Veterans for the first time in our program history. The season isn’t over yet, though. We’re in third but the season is far from over. We still have two very tough games on our schedule.”
The Chiefs host the first-place Brownsville Porter Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Donna North. The Chargers look to bounce back at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on the road against city rival Brownsville Pace.