TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — Liberty Hill didn’t have the wind in the second half, but the Panthers sailed right past the Hidalgo Pirates with two goals after intermission en route to a dominating 3-1 victory in a Class 4A Region IV semifinal Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The defeat brought the Pirates’ season to a close, but not after an impressive playoff run. Still, Hidalgo simply could not get on track on offense Friday, and its defense had trouble handling the Panthers’ speed and strength.
Hidalgo coach Zeke Morales said his senior-laden team played the game it wanted to, but it may have faced an opponent that was just better Friday night.
“I think we did everything right. The game plan was to play like we were supposed to play and try and go up on top first, but we couldn’t, and you know, that’s just the way it goes,” Morales said. “To win big games, you need talent, hard work and luck. Unfortunately today, we didn’t get too much of that. But I’m very proud of my kids. What a fantastic season we had.”
Though Hidalgo (18-14) ran roughshod over its opponents in the first two rounds of the postseason and won a close game against Grulla to qualify for the regional semifinals, the Pirates were stymied by the Panthers’ defense and shut out until the very end of the match.
Morales and his players said they were impacted by the outstanding play of Liberty Hill senior goalkeeper David Larkin and speedy and skilled sophomore forward Jaron Frye. In the second half especially, Frye routinely got behind the Pirates’ defense for solid chances.
Liberty Hill was a bigger, stronger team. The Panthers showed it from the very beginning, with 6-foot senior Bryce Stratton notching the team’s first goal 19 minutes in. Stratton rose above three Hidalgo defenders near the back post to score a header off a corner kick. The two teams played to a draw the rest of the half, as the Panthers took a one-goal lead into the locker room.
The first 35 minutes of the second half were dominated by Liberty Hill and Frye. The sophomore dazzled with his speed and dribbling and had several chances before ultimately escaping two Hidalgo defenders and finding the net with 33:15 left. The goal put the Panthers in the driver’s seat, up 2-0.
Liberty Hill added one more score 10 minutes later to take a commanding lead. The Panthers defense kept the Pirates at bay for the remainder of the match, though Hidalgo sophomore Juan Gomez snuck in a strike at the 4:39 mark to give the game its final score.
Senior Josh Morales said the Pirates studied Frye and knew how to defend him and the others, but they couldn’t take away from how well the Panthers played.
“We knew what to expect coming in. They were an overall excellent team. They had good patience. They could touch the ball short. Touch the ball long. They knew how to pass,” Morales, a team captain, said. “We trust our coaches. We have talented players. We had a plan. We wouldn’t do anything different. We just came across a really good team.”
Hidalgo produced some strong chances. The Pirates made several productive runs against the wind late in the first half, and even more after the intermission. But once the Pirates fell behind by multiple goals, the deficit was too much to come back from.