BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
ROMA –Edcouch-Elsa was the slightly higher seed coming into Thursday’s bi-district matchup against Roma at Ramiro Barrera Middle School.
The Yellow Jackets needed just one goal and an enormous effort defensively to defeat the Gladiators 1-0 on a hostile pitch.
E-E, which finished second in District 32-5A, and Roma, third in 31-5A, had plenty of looks at the net and close calls, but the only goal came just after the midway point of the first half.
Speedy sophomore midfielder Vanessa Cerda, who was counted on from attack from the right side, made a run and sent a dangerous cross through Roma’s box.
Another Jackets sophomore, Teresa Gallegos, was on the receiving end of the pass with a header that nearly went in on the fly. Instead, she had to do some extra work to ensure her team scored first.
“I thought it was going to go in, but it hit the post,” Gallegos said. “So I got the rebound and I kicked it and it went in, and it felt really good. It was really exciting.”
For most of the first half, the Gladiators’ defenders did a solid job of collapsing on the ball carrier in times of pressure. But with 16:51 to play in the first, half Teresa Gallegos had enough space to control her own rebound without much resistance.
E-E had numerous chances to double its lead just before halftime. A Marissa Rangel shot beat Roma goalie Xiomara Garza in net, but her shot was denied by the crossbar.
Garza was strong all game, pouncing on bouncing balls across her area before Edcouch-Elsa could convert on crosses and corners.
Ari Cavazos, however, won the goaltender duel. She wasn’t extremely busy in net, but her best save came with 2:15 remaining in the first half.
She made a leaping save on Roma winger Julianna Moreno and had the presence of mind to rush at the loose ball and smack it away before a forward could reach the rebound.
“I just have to time them a lot,” Cavazos said. “It’s a lot of pressure, honestly, because once I save a ball then if it bounces back, they can have a shot. So I have to react really quick.”
Cavazos said when the first goal went in, she was hoping her team would score again for insurance but was prepared to shut the opposition down.
“I kind of hoped that we would get more goals, but I knew that we could hold them off,” Cavazos said. “We’ve had a lot of these games (in district play) and it has definitely helped us for these types of games.”
Roma put on the second-half push, but team captain Mayra Estrada had trouble connecting with her teammates even after she put on impressive individual displays to beat her markers.
With 35 minutes to play, Laritza Perez nearly had a clear-cut breakaway, but the Edcouch-Elsa defender was able to keep up and only give up a corner that her team was able to easily clear.
Just 10 minutes later, the Gladiators had their fans on the edge of their seats with two back-to-back chances that ended up off just off target.
“On the coaching side, we don’t wish this on anyone,” E-E coach Juan Romero said about the stress levels he felt on the sidelines. “It was crazy. We knew it was going to be a tight game. They’re a good team, very well-coached, very well-structured. We knew they had the attackers — Mayra and, of course, Julianna — excellent players.”
Edcouch-Elsa, which missed the playoffs by just one point last season, is one of the first teams in 2019 to advance to the area round. The Jackets will face Gregory-Portland, which cruised to an 8-0 bi-district win over Corpus Christi Ray on Thursday, in the area round.
“I hope this leads to the next game, which is a very tough matchup,” Romero said.