HENRY MILLER | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — Progreso goalkeeper Arturo Gallegos was lying on the ground, stunned after watching a ball fly by him and into the goal to give Taylor a lead 46 seconds into the first 10-minute overtime of a Class 4A Region IV semifinal match on Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
But after Progreso’s Matthew Perez netted the game-tying goal with 8:27 remaining in the second extra period, Gallegos knew he would have another chance.
He took advantage of that opportunity.
Gallegos, a junior, stopped the first two Taylor shots during penalty kicks, and Progreso’s first four players scored on their attempts as the Red Ants claimed a 2-1 victory in PKs to advance to today’s noon regional final against Liberty Hill at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“I felt like I was going to stop them,” Gallegos said. “Especially after they scored in the first overtime period. They surprised me.”
The Ducks’ goal surprised everyone in attendance. For the game’s first 80 minutes, Taylor kept everyone back on defense. Progreso controlled possession, won most of the battles for the ball and had several attempts, but couldn’t break through the Ducks’ defense.
“We knew they were going to come out and play like that and put a lot of people in the box and on defense,” Progreso coach Margarito Jimenez Jr. said. “But this team never gives up. When we were down in the first extra period, I was already thinking the game was going to go to penalty kicks.”
Gallegos was almost fooled on the first penalty kick he faced, at first leaning to his right. The kick, however, came low and to his left, and he dove feet first to kick it away. The second shot went to his right, and he made a diving glove save. That was all the work he needed to do for the day.
Anthony Vasquez started the PKs for Progreso with a low shot to the right corner of the goal. Alejandro Salazar and Fabrizzio Gonzalez followed suit, putting the ball on the same route with the same result.
With the score 3-1, Jacob Martinez sealed the victory with a shot to the other corner, and Progreso players and coaches mobbed Martinez before doing the same to Gallegos.
“I’m blessed to have had a chance to play in a game like this, and my reflexes were ready,” he said. “I almost moved the wrong way on that one shot but was able to recover and kick it away.”
“We kept trying to get through their defense with long balls and long strikes, but nothing worked the entire regulation,” Jimenez said. “This is how we play, though. This is how we’ve played all season.”
Perez had three opportunities to score in regulation, but he was greeted by three or four defensive players every time he came near the goal.
“Coach just keeps telling me to try to get one,” Perez said in Spanish. “We just kept working and working. We had some chances but couldn’t score. But we finally did, and he (Gallegos) was great at the end.”
“He stops everything in practice,” Jimenez said of his keeper. “When we got to the PKs, I was pretty confident at that point that he would stop them then, too.”