NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Due to a late start, McAllen Rowe and McAllen High girls soccer might have been the last teams to kick off district play when the whistle finally blew to start the action at 8:38 p.m Tuesday night.
Neither the delayed start, temperatures in the 50s or a would-be first-half goal that was disallowed due to the game clock expiring could slow the Bulldogs from shutting out their rivals 3-0 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Bulldogs junior Ava Alaniz saw her first action on the pitch since a foot injury sidelined her since preseason scrimmages in December.
The University of Houston commit made an instant impact when she was subbed into the match in the second half.
“It was obviously super disappointing, I wanted to help my team in any way I could but I had full confidence that they would be able to be successful with or without me,” Alaniz said. “They definitely proved that in all of the showcases that we went to during non-district. But obviously, as an athlete and it’s competitive nature to want to be out there.”
Alaniz found herself facing two Rowe defenders inside the box and took them both wide before dishing a centering pass to fellow junior Sophia Soto who broke open the scoring 50 minutes into the game.
Despite a relatively slow start in non-district and dropping from No. 1 to No. 2 in the RGVSports.com girls soccer rankings, the Bulldogs still have an unspoken aura as the team to beat in local soccer.
Relative is the key word because the Bulldogs still are without a defeat in the RGV, only a 1-1 draw with Los Fresnos, and both of their losses came to teams in metro areas.
Injuries, players getting back from holiday vacation, athletes competing outside of high school all contributed to McHi’s revolving roster.
“I thought Rowe played really well. They’re a good team and they’re not going to make things easy for us,” McHi coach Pat Arney said. “I think they did a great job in the first half. We had some chances but their goalie came up with some big saves.”
McHi sophomore Chloe Fallek spent most of the first half probing at Rowe’s right side halfback. The left side attack turned into a chance for Soto who smashed a shot off the crossbar before finding the net in the second half. Westyn Henderson provided the Bulldogs other dangerous shot but her howitzer from outside of the box was blocked by Rowe goalie Hethyr Moore.
Rowe, on the other hand, tried to run its offense up the middle with long balls to speedy forwards but the McHi backline didn’t let one slip by.
The Warriors were also victims of the early-season injury bug but Alexa Garza and Monse Olvera were able to finally get back into action for their team after missing substantial parts of non-district.
Once McHi found the back of the net in the second half the Bulldogs built on the momentum of the tally.
After the first goal, it was time for McHi freshman Bri Claudio to make her presence felt.
Claudio scored on a fadeaway type kick to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead and later hit home a header to make it 3-0.
“Whenever I came (to the team) I was pretty nervous to play with the older girls and see what they would think of me,” Claudio said. “Getting to know them more helps me become a better player like from recent games playing with them and then scoring today was really really good.”
The convincing win for McHi sets up for an intriguing matchup between the Bulldogs and McAllen Memorial Mustangs on Feb. 8