BY MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Without one of their leading scorers, PSJA North felt it was at a disadvantage.
The Raiders have built a reputation the past couple of seasons for being one of the more offensively potent teams in their district, if not the Valley. And they entered their area-round game Saturday missing one of their top threats in Juan Rodriguez, who was ejected from a game earlier in the week.
So entering their biggest match of the year, Jonathan Aguilera, a four-year letterman, answered the call. He drilled a shot from point-blank range just eight minutes into the game, and it was enough to knock off McAllen High 1-0 at Sharyland Pioneer.
“Last night, we were texting and I told him, ‘You have to step it up, You’re a short guy (at 5 feet), but you have to be a captain and just put the team on your shoulders,’ which is hard,” Hinojosa said about Aguilera. “But he took it very seriously, his position as captain, and thank God everything went our way.”
The senior midfielder had experience on his side. For the past four years, he’s been a starter for a Raiders team that has enjoyed success and experienced heartbreak. Last season, they were bounced from the playoffs by Brownsville Rivera in the third round.
And while they won’t be facing Rivera just yet, they have a chance Tuesday to avenge last year’s regional-quarterfinals misfortunes when they take on Brownsville Hanna at Weslaco East.
“Last year, we’d fall under pressure,” Aguilera said in Spanish. “Now, we’re calm. We’re tranquil. We have more of a team to give them (Hanna) competition.”
Without Rodriguez, North was forced to adjust its offense. It showed at times, with the Raiders not being able to convert the few opportunities they had.
It was an uncharacteristic match for them, to say the least, with Aguilera saying afterward “I thought there were going to be more goals,” and Hinojosa adding, “we just have to take care of business, for this not to happen again, where we’re defending a 1-0 lead.”
With 31:19 to go in the first half, Aguilera took a cross from the left corner and buried a straightaway look at the goal from about 5 yards out to put his team ahead.
“Jonathan — man, all those guys — they have that experience to say ‘I was in the playoffs for four years.’ And not many guys can say that,” Hinojosa said. “So, Jonathan, he’s been a great part of this team. He’s been giving us everything. These guys, they play hard.”
Inside of 24 minutes to play, PSJA North had an opportunity to expand the lead, when Jesus Hernandez fired off a shot as he was falling down. The ball hit the top of the crossbar and fell straight down on an empty net, before a McHi defender swooped in and kicked the ball back out.
It was the Raiders’ best chance to expand the lead, but one that it was ultimately able to live without.
Minutes later, though, McHi came close to tying the game when they fired off a shot from inside the box, hitting the right post and bouncing off, as officials called the Bulldogs for offsides.
“That’s the way it goes,” McHi coach Fernando Segovia said. “That’s the way soccer is. One bad bounce and it costs you the game. I think we played very well, and just, next year.
“Honestly, after the (North) goal happened, we calmed down, because we seemed shaky at first. We started playing our game, but we just couldn’t put it in. It was that type of game.”