TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO RGVSports.com
McALLEN — McAllen High’s Jackie Lemus scored the first of an onslaught of goals 44 seconds into the game and the Bulldogs went on to flat-out dominate McAllen Memorial 9-1 on Friday at Boxer Hernandez Stadium.
What was supposed to a grudge match between District 30-6A’s cream of the crop — perhaps the RGV’s best two girls soccer teams — never materialized.
The Bulldogs were bigger, stronger and faster in every aspect of the match. They won 50-50 balls. Mireya Ramirez scored a hat trick. They were near perfect on set pieces, and their fast break was unstoppable.
“Boy, we just came out ready to play, and we were just all over them. I don’t think they knew what hit them the first 10 minutes into this game,” McHi coach Pat Arney said. “I have got to give these girls credit. Some of them were saying this is the best game they’ve ever played. Maybe, but we can still get better.”
With the victory, McHi finishes the season sweep of its crosstown rival and improves to 8-0 in district and 17-3-1 overall. The Mustangs drop to 7-2 in district and 20-3-3 overall.
Before Friday’s game, the Mustangs were on a roll. They had won five straight and outscored opponents 24-2.
But Friday was a completely different story. With its defense in disarray, Memorial allowed McHi to pounce early and often. The Bulldogs were up 4-0 just 17 minutes into the first half behind two impressive goals from Westyn Henderson. That would have been more than enough, but McHi continued to pour it on.
The first half was also a showcase of McHi’s speed and agility. The Bulldogs repeatedly made long runs — some scored, some didn’t — past would-be Memorial defenders. Either up the middle or down the sidelines — it didn’t much matter. McHi ran out to a 6-1 lead at intermission.
Sophomore Ramirez led a quintet of McHi scorers with her four goals. Henderson found the back of the net twice and Ava Alaniz, who played strong in every corner of the pitch, added two more. Zoe Flores also scored a goal.
“At first, we were nervous. We were super nervous. It’s a big game. But we still knew we were going to win,” Ramirez said. “We played awesome. We played as a team. We communicated. We played perfect.”