BROWNSVILLE — McAllen Memorial went down to Brownsville Porter early in Friday’s bi-district meeting in Brownsville, but the Mustangs responded with a dominant display to win the match 5-1.
The Mustangs advance to the area round, where they are set to face Victoria West on Monday or Tuesday.
“It was something we were hopeful for,” Mustangs head coach Matthew Kaiser said. “Coming to Brownsville always makes you nervous, but we thought we had a pretty good matchup. Things did not start well for us, getting scored on early, but I think the girls responded well … very happy.”
A four-goal performance by Chloey Mejia and a goal from Kennedy Kaiser lifted the Mustangs past the Cowgirls. Mejia a sophomore, and Kaiser, a freshman, looked to be a threat every time the ball touched their feet while the Mustangs’ defense took care of business.
Mejia’s left foot was on fire and could have had another goal or two on the night. Mejia constantly found space after being routinely found by teammates or creating space with a dribble.
The forward grabbed her fourth goal during the 67th minute, only four minutes before she scored her hat trick. Mejia scored the Mustangs’ third goal, her second, in the first minute of the second half.
“They were all special, scoring in the playoffs,” Mejia said. “We are trying to go as far as we can, and each goal counts the same.”
Kaiser finished with the eventual match winner with close-range goal following a cross with only seconds left in the first half. The freshman also did brilliantly on the ball to set up Mejia’s first goal, a beautiful left-footed shot across the keeper’s face and into the corner to level the match after 27 minutes.
“I am just happy to be able support my team and Chloey,” Kaiser said. “It was a very crucial moment for her to get a goal at the point. We had a rocky start, but we focused, set our mind to the game and came back strong.”
The goals on either side of the half were gut punches to the Cowgirls that they could not recover from. Matthew Kaiser told his team at halftime that coming out strong and scoring could be the difference, he said.
“That quick was a surprise, but it certainly helped a lot,” he added. “It was hard for them to recover from.”
Brownsville Porter defended bravely after going up inside five minutes. Cowgirls midfielder Wendy Medina busted through the Mustangs’ lines to beat the keeper and give her team a 1-0 lead.