By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
LOS FRESNOS — The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons moved into first place in District 32-6A thanks to an Ashley Esparza brace in a 2-0 victory against the Harlingen High Lady Cardinals.
“Harlingen is a tough team,” Lady Falcons coach Juan Luna said. “They are one of the best teams in the Valley the last four or five years. We are a great team and can compete against anybody, and we have against teams all over Texas.”
The Lady Falcons looked like the slightly more threatening side during the first half and got their goal for it.
A shot inside the box was handled by a Harlingen High player. On the ensuing penalty kick, Esparza opted for power to give the Lady Falcons a 1-0 lead.
“I always go for power,” she said.
Harlingen High almost leveled after the restart when a cross off of a set piece almost found the back post. The Lady Cardinals pushed hard to level and came out the break with plenty of energy.
The Lady Falcons scored the next goal. Esparza again found the back of the net after two wonderful passes helped set up the chance on a counter.
“Coming into the game, we were thinking that is a playoff game,” Luna said. “We were not thinking about district. We took it as a playoff game, and that was the mentality all week and the players bought in. The seniors on this team want to win.”
Esparza, a senior forward, now has 29 goals on the season and reached the coveted milestone of 100 goals. Her second gave her 101.
“I feel great,” she said. “I am so thankful of my teammates for getting me where I am.”
Both sides came into the match undefeated in district play. It was the first loss in district for the Lady Cardinals in nearly two years.
“We are honestly getting ready for playoffs,” Lady Cards coach Debra Galvan said. “We just need to be ready for the next games ahead, we still are not out of district, anything can happen. We need to prepare for anything when it comes to the teams we face in the playoffs. These games are important for that.”