By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Hanna Lady Golden Eagles are a senior-laden soccer team with a lot of potential.
That potential showed in a big way Saturday evening as the Lady Eagles won 2-0 at home against the Edinburg Vela Lady Sabercats. The Hanna girls scored one goal during each half to secure the Class 6A bi-district match.
The victory advances the District 32-6A third-place Lady Eagles to the area playoffs this coming week. They are scheduled to play next at District 30-6A champion McAllen High at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Vela ended the season as the District 31-6A runner-up.
Hanna goalkeeper Valeria Perez, a four-year starter, displayed her experience by making a number of standout plays while defending the net and keeping the Vela girls scoreless.
“Being out of the playoffs last season, a win like this means everything to me,” Perez said. “For most of us this is our last year (at Hanna), and now we’re coming for it all. We’re playing together and trying to go as far as we can.”
The Lady Eagles went ahead 1-0 during the 18th minute when Hilary Pina received a centering pass from the right side and scored from close range.
“First of all, it felt amazing (to score),” said Pina, a senior forward. “It happened in the first 20 minutes of the game, and I wanted to secure the bag (by scoring).
“Today the difference was we took so many shots at the goal,” Pina added. “We took like 20 shots and made two out of 20. As long as we don’t stop shooting (we’ll be fine).”
It became 2-0 during the 46th minute when Sytlaly Loyde lofted a free kick on an arc over the outstretched arms of the Vela goalkeeper and into the back of the net. It was a perfectly placed kick that found the mark from 25 yards away.
“My thought (when taking that free kick) was just to score,” said Loyde, a senior midfielder on the right wing. “Like Valeria said, she has us (covered) on the bottom (of the field) and I want to help us be covered up on top.
“We have a lot of seniors this year, and we want to do the best we can on top, and really, everywhere on the field,” Loyde added. “I usually try to take our free kicks, and my goal is to score every time.”
The Lady Eagles went into the match as a slight underdog, but playing at home and the support of the crowd appeared to give them a boost.
Vela, a solid team with some speed on the offensive attack, almost won 31-6A this season but settled for second place in their district as Edinburg North edged them for the conference title in points 32-30.
“It was a complicated game against Vela, not an easy game,” Lady Eagles coach Eliseo Guzman said. “I’m very happy we got a positive result.
“We’re very glad to get the win,” he added. “We have a lot of seniors, and they really wanted this victory and a chance to play this next game (against McHi).”