NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — The goals came fast and furious in the bi-district round matchup between Harlingen High and Edinburg Vela. The Cardinals found the back of the net just one more time in the 11-goal affair, winning 6-5 in overtime over the SaberCats.
Edinburg Vela’s Odessa Leal scored a minute into overtime, but the first 80 minutes was proof that the SaberCats would need to keep the goals coming to stay ahead. Harlingen stayed the course and scored two overtime goals to down Vela.
First, freshman Claire Reed tied the game at 5-5. The golden moment came with four minutes left in the second overtime period, when Cardinals senior Kaylee Gushwa floated her second goal of the night. The goal stood as the game-winner in Harlingen’s return to the postseason after a five-year absence.
“We weren’t going to take anything away from Vela,” Harlingen coach Debra Galvan said. “We knew we weren’t going to take anything lightly. It was just a nail-biter. Luckily, it was us on top.”
The visiting Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but that early margin wasn’t indicative of the tight game that was about to unfold. Two capable offenses strutted their stuff for 100 minutes of edge-of-your-seat action.
After the consecutive Cardinals goals by Monique Rodriguez and Kay-Lani Vasquez at 3:05 and 9:56, respectively, the SaberCats found their offensive touch and scored three in a row.
“2-0 is not that big of a lead. We still had a lot of time to catch up,” Vela forward Taylor Campbell said. “All our players did something to contribute to us scoring. We just kept going and going. From 7 in the morning at school, we were all excited.”
The first Vela goal came after Campbell’s centering cross turned into a collision of three players — two Cardinals and the SaberCats’ Dayana Cantu. With goalkeeper Casey Charles turned around and a defender out of position, Cantu scored a goal from the seat of her shorts to put Vela on the board.
Campbell took over goal-scoring responsibilities for Vela after that, scoring on a through ball from Cantu. The freshman Campbell gave Vela its first lead on a penalty kick conversion following a handball.
The scoreline could have been even higher in the first half if not for plays like SaberCats defender Alyssa Muniz using a desperation slide tackle to prevent Vasquez’s third breakaway in the first 20 minutes.
“We both knew our style of play,” Vela coach Americo Cortez said. “We both knew how to touch the ball, but we both knew each other’s weaknesses. We played the long ball. They played it, too. It was a battle. Whoever would score would win.”
The SaberCats were burned on multiple occasions by the arching lob shot. Rodriguez opened the scoring that way, and senior Kaylee Gushwa exploited sophomore goalie Ashley De La Garza’s positioning to score the first goal of the second half.
Harlingen High coach Debra Galvan said that her team needed to find the recipe that worked early in the game following Vela’s three straight tallies.
“The girls knew they had to feed the ball through to the forwards, and the forwards just had to finish,” Galvan said. “And then, finally, it started clicking to where we were getting the ball to the back of the net.”
Kay-Lani Vasquez scored another breakaway goal with 20 minutes remaining in regulation. The sophomore’s goal felt like an instant reward for Cardinals keeper Charles, who had just made a desperation falling save on the other end.
The speedy Vasquez said she was surprised to find as many opportunities as she did considering she felt the “flat four” offside trap was effective at times.
“I didn’t really expect a lot of balls, because I thought I was going to get offside,” Vasquez said. “But I got a pretty good amount to try finishing.”
Campbell completed her first playoff hat trick in her first playoff game with 15 minutes remaining in regulation. She had chances to level the score in the waning moments of overtime, but an offside call and a key breakaway save stifled the freshman.
The Cardinals will try to carry the momentum from the win into a matchup against District 30-6A champions McAllen High, which defeated Laredo United South 9-1 on Thursday.
“This is what makes it exciting,” Galvan said. “And for the fans, too. It’s games like this is why we have playoffs. The girls are pumped about it. They’re excited. It’s a wonderful moment. It’s exciting, but then we have to get ready for the next game right away.”