By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — Goals were at a high premium Tuesday as District 32-6A girls soccer contenders Los Fresnos and Hanna played on even terms for 100 minutes and went to penalty kicks tied at 2 before the Lady Falcons emerged as the winners at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium.
The score in PKs was 3-1 in favor of Los Fresnos (5-2, 14 points).
“It was the first time we’ve gone to penalty kicks this season, but thank God, we practice them, so I think our girls felt confident going into it,” said Lady Falcons coach Marissa Wood, whose team won its fourth straight game. “When I told them that this was it (the match was going to penalties and) to envision their shot, they said, ‘Done, it’s going in,’ and for the most part, that’s what their story was (in winning the game).”
Once in penalties, Hanna went first, but Adrienne Davis was the only one who converted her try for the Lady Golden Eagles (5-2, 15 points).
Meanwhile, Tanya Prazelini, Gaby Mariscal and Rubi Soto found the net with their penalty attempts. The PKs lasted to only a combined eight players because Hanna missed on three of its four tries.
Neither team scored during the opening half of regulation on a cool night with temperatures in the 40s and little wind, but each squad tallied a goal during the second half andeach did so again in overtime to send the match to penalties.
The scoreless deadlock ended six minutes into the second half when Los Fresnos’ Veronica Bratschi kicked the ball into the right corner of the net on a high arc over the Hanna goalkeeper from about 15 yards out on the left side.
With eight minutes left in regulation, Frida Palomo came up with a timely goal for Hanna to tie it 1 as she fired in a shot from approximately 18 yards away on the right side. Palomo’s shot appeared to go under a defender on its way to rolling into the left corner of the net just inside the post.
Hanna went up 2-1 on a goal by Davis from 10 yards out on the left side with four minutes gone during the first period of OT. The Lady Falcons then tied it at 2 and soon brought on the PKs when Clarissa “Claire” Castaneda sent a high kick over the wall and into the goal from 8 yards away off an indirect kick that came about when the Hanna goalkeeper was whistled for holding the ball, dropping it and immediately picking it up again.
Castaneda’s goal was scored with six minutes left in the second period of OT.
“For a minute there, it was anybody’s game,” Wood said. “We’re so thankful that things went in our favor. Everybody did amazing, including our keeper (Vanessa Ramirez, who stopped Hanna’s first PK try). She’s a senior and she’s been in PKs before, so we trusted her with the end of this. The other girls did their part, too. They love each other right now, which is a good thing.
“We’re so happy we can go into the second round of district (Friday) with a win tonight,” Wood added.