By NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF REPORT
McALLEN — The showdown between McAllen High and McAllen Memorial girls soccer teams was nearly 11 months in the making.
The Mustangs wanted to erase the taste of last season’s 9-1 loss in the second meeting between the two schools last March. The Bulldogs were aiming to turn last year’s trip to state into another dominant district campaign.
Not even temperatures dipping into the 40s could cancel the contest, or even deter fan by both sides from packing the stands to watch the RGVSports.com’s No. 1 (Memorial) and No. 2 (McHi) teams collide.
After 80 hard-fought minutes and three total penalties, McAllen High held their ground and won, 3-2, Friday at Boxer Hernandez Stadium at McAllen Memorial.
“ Freshman year, sophomore year and junior year, we had a PK against Memorial, so no one was surprised when they called the first one,” McHi senior defender Emily Gurwitz said. “I definitely was surprised when they called the second (penalty); it’s rare to have two in a game. When they called the third one, I was shocked.”
The third penalty of the match, which was whistled with four minutes to play, was the first time McHi had a chance to shoot, and coach Pat Arney called Gurwitz’s No. 22 to take the attempt.
Gurwitz drilled the shot and lifted McHi to their 42nd consecutive district victory.
“ I’ve been taken them in practice and our preseason games, so I was happy to step up for my team,” Gurwitz said. “I have to give credit to Lexi (Gonzalez) because in practice we take shots on her, and she’s the best goalkeeper I’ve ever played with or played against.”
Even though Gonzalez lifted her team to new heights a season ago, she wasn’t able to stop either of Memorial forward Andrea Santana’s penalty shots.
The game started at a breakneck pace. The Bulldogs were the aggressors out of the gates, which led to the games first tally just 3:21 in.
Sophia Soto rocketed a shot past the keeper, but it clanked off the crossbar. Bulldogs junior Ava Alanis didn’t waste the opportunities, however, wiring a shot near post for the goal.
The first penalty against the Bulldogs came with 23:52 to play. Memorial had started to earn more possession and chances, which culminated with Geo Hernandez being knocked down in the box.
Santana scored her first to equalize.
McHi freshman Mallory Henderson nearly gave her team the lead again with 4:30 before the break, but her shot sailed over the bar.
After both teams found the scoreboard, the match got much tighter. Memorial owned possession in the first half, but after the break the Bulldogs stayed on the ball more often.
Sophia Soto, who set up the first goal, scored one of her own with 13:46 to play on a centering pass that she put a cleat on to trickle past the keeper.
Four minutes later, Memorial found themselves on the penalty spot again. Even though the McHi crowd was up in arms, a hard bump sent the attacker to the turf and the whistle was blown.
Santana made no mistake and knotted the score once again.
Even though Gonzalez was visibly frustrated, she stood tall in crunch time with three saves at 2-2, including tipping a shot aiming top shelf over the bar.
“ I just had to get the goals and get it out of my head and focus on the next play so we can try to score again,” Gonzalez said. “They (Memorial) can take any shots from anywhere, but I did my best to try to stop all the kicks that came. They honestly had so many good shots.”
The foul that set up Gurwitz’s tally was disputed by the home crowd, and it was arguably not the hardest tackle of the evening. After the goal, McHi’s resolve was tested with less than five minutes.
“ Memorial…undefeated. They’ve been playing great, and they definitely deserved their No. 1 ranking,” Arney said. “We saw them come at us over and over and over again. I think we’re a little unlucky with two PKs. We were able to adapt a little bit to them. They’re a great team. They’re hard to stop.”
There wasn’t much that separated both units, but McHi’s win gives it a 4-0 district record. Memorial drops to 3-1.
The teams will meet again March 5 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium. Both the Bulldogs and Mustangs still have a date pending with upstart La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, which is unblemished in 30-6A play.