By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The Lopez Lady Lobos won a district championship one year ago and made a statement Tuesday in their District 32-6A opener that they have every intention of doing so again.
Lopez and the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons, two teams with designs on the 32-6A title, opened district play at Lopez with an intense, hard-fought match that went to overtime in a scoreless tie.
It was still scoreless after the first 10-minute period of OT, but with just less than six minutes left in the second period of extra time, Lopez’s Carla Gracia kicked the ball in from close range near the right post as the Lady Lobos pulled out a 1-0 victory.
“I wanted to do it for my whole team, because everyone had been working so hard throughout the entire game,” Gracia said of scoring the winning goal. “They deserved it, and I dedicate it to them.”
Lopez coach Alex Macias said his girls were eager to prove themselves against a squad considered to be one of the elite teams in the district.
“We knew that Los Fresnos is a very good team and that this was going to be pretty much like a district final,” Macias said. “I’m really proud of my team and what these girls showed tonight.”
Neither team assumed much of an advantage during the first 94 minutes, although there were some chances for both squads, particularly Los Fresnos, which had an edge in shots on goal over the home team.
Just 2 1/2 minutes into the second half of regulation after a scoreless opening 40 minutes, Los Fresnos’ Clarissa “Claire” Castaneda dribbled in along the end line toward the goal from the right side and made a strong, accurate pass in the direction of teammate Tanya Prazelini, who was poised to head in the ball from close range. But Lopez goalkeeper Anna Morales stepped in front of the pass at the last second to intercept it and thwart what would have been a certain score.
With just less than three minutes to go in the second period of OT, the Lopez goalkeeper prevailed again by stopping a Prazelini shot in a 1-on-1 situation.
There were several other chances for the Lady Falcons, but each time Morales was more than up to the task and turned away threat after threat.
Los Fresnos was coming off a strong showing at the Brownsville ISD Tournament two weekends ago that was capped by a 6-0 victory over Edinburg Economedes in the title match. The Lady Falcons went 9-0 in the tournament.
One year ago, Lopez won District 32-5A with an undefeated record and advanced to the Region IV-5A Tournament in San Antonio for the first time. Most of the teams in 32-5A last season, including the Lady Falcons, are now in 32-6A.