DONNA — Ayloni Garcia danced with the ball at her feet, similar to how a puppeteer commands a marionette.
She danced one way, then crossed over another while in the penalty box. She shook off one defender, glimpsed an opening in some space and rocketed a shot that glanced off a second defender and into the goal as McAllen Rowe won a thrilling 2-1 Class 5A bi-district playoff game over Harlingen South on Thursday at Bennie La Prade Stadium in Donna.
It was Garcia’s second goal during a game in which Harlingen South not only showed great team speed but also played the final 60 minutes down a player due to a red card.
Garcia took a long lead pass from Camila Gil and streaked toward the goal with two defenders sticking tight to her. South not only marked Garcia all over the field for the entire match, but also had their middle back roaming on her side to try and slow the scoring phenom.
“I took the pass, what a beautiful pass from Camila, and just tried to do a move,” said Garcia, who scored 40 goals during district play. “Something came out, I took a shot, got a lucky bounce and thank God it went in.”
The Warriors, who squeezed into the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, trailed 1-0 on a shot that took a high bounce from Damaris Solis with 9:15 remaining in the first half.
“We knew she was their player when they needed to win,” We tried to shut them down the best we can. But we played with a lot of heart,” head coach Debra Galvan said. “Speed is always a threat, and we utilized them really well. We have track stars on our team. I’m so proud of them being down 60 minutes and still got some shots.”
Garcia also scored the first goal. Bella Hernandez made a perfect throw-in that took a high bounce with Garcia in a perfect position between two defenders.
“It was a perfect throw-in over the top, and Ayloni did her thing,” Rowe head coach John Martinez said. “That’s why she’s one of the best in the state. She’s phenomenal getting by people. She created that.”
“I saw the defenders watching the ball and others were yelling, ‘offsides’ but I wasn’t,” Garcia said. “And I timed it perfectly.”
Rowe will play Corpus Christi Flour Bluff in the next round after it defeated Laredo Nixon 4-3 on Thursday.
“They were a completely different team from what we saw earlier this year,” Martinez said. “They changed up their defensive game plan, and it frustrated us . They adjusted to what we do, and I like to think we adjusted to what they did, too.”