By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — The Brownsville Veterans Memorial Lady Chargers recorded one of their most remarkable comeback victories in soccer Friday as they staged a late rally to prevail over the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons 2-1.
The game-winning goal in the District 32-6A match at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium was scored from approximately 20 yards away by the Lady Chargers’ Sam Bodden with 3 1/2 minutes left.
After trailing most of the second half 1-0, the Lady Chargers surprised the Lady Falcons by deadlocking the match at 1 with only 12 1/2 minutes remaining.
Then Bodden’s high shot made it past the outstretched arms of the goalkeeper and came in just under the crossbar to give her team an improbable 2-1 victory with nine minutes left.
“It felt really amazing to score that goal,” said Bodden, a sophomore forward/midfielder. “It was really great to have my team behind me (providing support).This win boosts our confidence as we get ready to play Lopez next (Tuesday at home in our regular-season finale) and then go to the playoffs.
“We played so hard. We knew we had to step it up in the second half (after trailing 1-0 at intermission). We just looked at it as if the game was 0-0, and we didn’t get down. We knew we had to come back and get the win.”
The first half appeared that it was going to end in a scoreless tie until the Lady Falcons’ Itzel Bochas scored from the left side just inside the box with 45 seconds left before intermission.
At that point, Los Fresnos appeared to have the momentum and everything it needed to secure the win. The district-leading Lady Falcons (10-3, 30 points) could have clinched the outright 32-6A title with a win. Also, they were motivated by the 2-0 loss they suffered at Brownsville Veterans last month during the first round of district.
But the Lady Chargers (9-4, 27 points), now tied for second place with Harlingen South (9-4, 27 points), refused to give up.
“We were able to come back and win against a real good team, and that’s a pretty big victory for us,” Lady Chargers coach Luis Troncoso said. “We proved tonight that we can do some good things.
“I’m proud of our girls,” he said. “They stepped up after being down 1-0. We showed some character with this win.”
Brownsville Veterans and Los Fresnos have qualified for the playoffs.
Los Fresnos will be at Hanna next Tuesday as Brownsville Veterans plays host to Lopez.