By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
ROMA — After missing the soccer playoffs last season, the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons are making the most of their postseason opportunities in 2015.
Highlighted by Veronica Bratschi’s Olympic goal, the District 32-6A champion Lady Falcons recorded a pair of second-half tallies to prevail over District 29-6A runner-up Laredo United 2-0 during the area round of the Class 6A playoffs Thursday at Roma’s Gladiator Arena.
The victory, Los Fresnos’ second consecutive shutout in the postseason this year, advances the Rio Grande Valley’s No. 1 Lady Falcons to next week’s regional quarterfinal round against District 30-6A runner-up McAllen High, a 2-1 winner over Lopez, also Thursday.
Los Fresnos was ahead 1-0 when Bratschi, a junior midfielder on the wing, took a corner kick from the left side with fewer than seven minutes remaining. Her perfectly placed corner sailed into the net untouched on a curve for a rare Olympic goal to seal the victory.
“I just want to score for my team however I can,” said Bratschi, who has scored an Olympic goal twice already this season. “My coaches tell me to ‘Bend it like Beckham,’ so that’s what I tried to do. I’ve been practicing.
“It felt awesome (to score like that),” she added. “I got to run from that corner line and celebrate with my whole team, knowing that I just put that whole thing in by myself.”
Earlier, Los Fresnos went up 1-0 with 21 minutes left when Bratschi’s throw-in from the left side was flicked along by Tanya Prazelina and headed in by teammate Suzy Rodriguez.
“I just told myself, ‘I better get this (header) in (the goal) because I do not want to go to overtime,’” said Rodriguez, a senior midfielder also on the wing. “My teammates hustle for me, so I was going to do the same and hustle (to the ball) for them.
“I did not want to stay here for another 20 minutes (of overtime because of a scoreless tie), so I just gave my heart out (and scored that goal to make it 1-0),” she added. “I had to make it in
The Lady Falcons opened the playoffs last week with a 5-0 bi-district win against PSJA Memorial.
The last time Los Fresnos faced Laredo United in the playoffs was the area round in 2013, when the Lady Falcons prevailed 6-4 in Corpus Christi. There were nowhere near that many goals scored this time, but Los Fresnos again emerged as the winner.
“The first half, I think both teams struggled, but the most important thing is we came out on top with our two second-half goals,” Lady Falcons coach Marissa Wood said. “Our girls know that they have it within themselves, and they finally decided to tap into that strength and played beautiful soccer.
“That’s all we ask of them,” Wood added. “As soon as they started doing what they do best, making combinations with each other and showing each other they love each other on the field by playing good soccer and encouraging each other, you saw us go up by one and then by two.
“That’s all it is. These girls are hungry. They continue to amaze me in practice, and we’re looking at the big picture (of going to state). You have to plant that seed in the girls’ minds that they can be that team to go.”