McALLEN — Sharyland High’s Mauricio Gongora knew where he wanted to go with the ball when he lined up for the final penalty kick attempt of the afternoon.
After a missed attempt by Edinburg Economedes, Gongora was in position to seal the victory for the Rattlers.
Following a near three minutes delay during the final attempt, with 23 miles-per-hour wind gusts forcing the referee to reset the ball eight times, Gongora stepped up and placed the ball into the bottom right corner of the net for the go-ahead, as the Rattlers downed the Jaguars 6-5 in penalty kicks to win the Pat Leal Soccer Tournament on Saturday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“I was just waiting for the wind to dial down,” Gongora said. “I wanted to take the penalty already. I was just trying to calm the nerves at that moment. I already knew which corner I was going to put the ball in. I was just waiting for the ball to settle down and the wind to calm down, as well.”
The Rattlers trailed late during the final period. With 1:11 left in regulation, junior Jose Sanchez fired a free kick from 40 yards over the goalkeeper’s head for the score, sending the game into a shootout.
Once in penalty kicks, the Jaguars and Rattlers traded goals through the first five shots, before Edinburg Economedes’ Rene Galvan sailed a shot wide right, opening the door for Sharyland High’s victory.
“I told them the game was going to be like this,” Sharyland head coach Jorge Guerra said. “I told them we couldn’t get too anxious or desperate and just keep doing what we’re doing, and something would happen. With 1:11 left Jose Sanchez made that shot and sent us with momentum into the PKs.”
Playing in a game with less-than-ideal weather conditions, plus the added pressure of a shootout, was one positive taken from this weekend’s action, Sharyland High head coach Jorge Guerra said.
After not advancing past the group stage during the Mission Eagles Tournament last weekend, Saturday’s championship win was a big one, Guerra added, showing him his team’s growth over the past few scrimmages.
“It’s an important win,” Guerra said. “We were kind of struggling during our first few scrimmages. We couldn’t find our 11 or our style. As tournaments happened, we started picking up the tempo and it showed in this game.”
The Rattlers wrap up their non-district slate against Rio Grande City on Thursday, before kicking off District 31-5A play against reigning district champion Valley View on Jan. 28.
The Rattlers are going into their final non-district game walking tall after earning first place Saturday.
“It’s a huge confidence-booster,” Gongora said. “It’s going to help us continue with this momentum that we have and hopefully get more wins, especially in district.”
Elsewhere, the McAllen High Bulldogs and San Benito Greyhounds opted to not play their third-place game, choosing instead to go straight to penalty kicks to decide a winner.
The Bulldogs edged the Greyhounds 5-4 in the shootout, with senior Vicente Alvarez netting the game-winning goal for a second straight week.