McALLEN — Bailey Sullivan lined up her corner kick and let the ball fly toward the penalty area. Bodies collided, fighting for position, a standing version of a rugby scrum. Chloey Mejia emerged from the pack and, in a blink, headed the shot into goal.
There were only five minutes remaining and that goal broke a 1-1 score with Sharyland High in a crucial early season District 31-5A battle between two perennial postseason teams. That goal was also the difference maker as the Mustangs captured a 2-1 victory.
Mejia also scored the team’s first goal.
Welcome to varsity little fishy, a term of endearment Memorial veteran players would often use to address the freshmen.
Mejia’s goal was one of 27 for the freshman during district play, helping lead the Mustangs to second place in a tight and uber-competitive District 31-5A and a spot in the Region IV-5A quarterfinals. Her performance has earned her The Monitor’s 2021-22 All-Area Girls Soccer Newcomer of the Year.
“We struggled in preseason with injuries and COVID,” Memorial head coach Matthew Kaiser said. “After that game, though, we knew. We knew things were coming together and we could be in the game with anyone.”
A skilled player already as a freshman, Mejia said she had to quickly adjust to the speed of the sport at the varsity level, competing against girls as many as 3 or 4 years older.
“In the beginning, there was a little bit of pressure being part of a new team,” Mejia said. “But my teammates made it easy to get along.”
Playing perennial Class 6A power Los Fresnos in her high school debut made adjusting quickly a necessity. The Falcons scored 61 goals on the season, fourth in the Valley (and gave up only four). Memorial, with a plethora offensive weapons, ended with 70 goals, second in the Valley.
“For that to be my first game ever in high school soccer, it was a rough one,” she said. “It was so quick, it really was an eye opener. I had to adjust really quick, and the older girls helped me get used to my position on the team.”
Not only were the physical challenges greater, but the sport’s mental challenges were also on a different level. For someone whose specialty since a young age was scoring, much of the pressure, especially for a “rookie” was to take the shot or not.
“I had struggles in the beginning. I didn’t feel comfortable and wasn’t in the right mindset sometimes. I don’t know if I can take the shot, I don’t want to waste it,” Mejia said.
Kaiser specifically remembers one conversation early in the season with his young prodigy, helping guide her through soccer’s growing pains.
“I told her nobody cares on the team that you’re a freshman and nobody cares on the other team so the pressure’s off,” Kaiser said. “You’re a starter and you need to produce and do what’s expected of you from your teammates.
“You just have to struggle through it and learn on the fly. There’s no way to speed up the process. Just work, struggle through it and get better.”
She not only got better, but she’s not a little fishy anymore.