McALLEN — Milan Diaz turned the ball over as McAllen High was making a run. With incredible tenacity and quickness, the senior forward immediately attacked the defender, slide-tackled and stole back the ball. In one smooth motion, she advanced the ball up the sideline to a streaking Julianna Millin, her original target before the turnover.
Millin took the ball almost to the end line and passed it back to the middle of the penalty box about 7 yards in front of the goal.
The play was all grit and hustle by Diaz, who also did the rest, putting an exclamation point on a play she started with 9:18 remaining that led the Bulldogs to a 2-1 victory in the Region IV-5A quarterfinal at Rowe High School.
The win sends the eight-time defending District 31-5A champions to the Sweet 16 for the third straight time. It also gave them their 20th consecutive victory after falling to Rowe in the district opener.
The play was everything a highlight clip is meant to be, from the turnover to the hustle to take the ball back to the perfect pass and follow through for a goal — the game-winner.
“When I got the ball, I knew that was going to be the game-winning shot that either sent us home or put us in the Sweet 16,” Diaz said. “And I had missed too many before that and knew I could not miss that one.”
McHi will play Leander at 10 a.m. Friday at the Brownsville Sports Park in the first Region IV-5A semifinal. The second game, at 1 p.m., will pit McAllen Memorial against Smithson Valley, which defeated Boerne Champion 8-2.
Memorial defeated Gregory-Portland 3-1 on Friday night in Corpus, setting up the potential for the city rivals and top two teams from District 31-5A to possibly meet in the regional championship. Rihanna Rodriguez, Kennedy Kaiser and Chloey Mejia each scored as the Mustangs advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015.
Millin gave McHi a 1-0 lead with 2:43 remaining in the first half. The sophomore took the ball and two defenders into the box then juked left, losing one of the defenders and giving her space as she put a left-footed shot back across the goal that the keeper got her hands on but couldn’t stop from rolling in.
Rowe tied it on a rebound goal from Mia Mata after Camila Gil boomed a free kick from the 37 that the keeper couldn’t hold on to with 23 seconds remaining in the first half.
Everything stayed the same until Millin and Diaz teamed up for what may be McHi’s play of the year.
“One thing about Milan is that she never gives up on the play,” Millin said. “Knowing it was her on the ball made me a little more prepared for that pass, and I was able to take it to the end line and pass it back to Milan.”
“She was all over the place today,” McHi head coach Patrick Arney said. “It’s that kind of hustle and determination, and that’s what it takes to be quarterfinal champions and to be a great player. She gives it her all every game, and tonight it showed.
The Bulldogs’ defense also consumed arguably the most lethal player in the Valley this season, Ayloni Garcia. McHi suffocated the ball magician with a double team anytime she could even get a sniff of the ball, forcing her on most occasions to try and find someone to distribute the ball to.
“It was a team effort on Ayloni because she doesn’t stay just on one side of the field,” Arney said. “She’s just so dangerous. We played great team defense and we shifted over. Who’s got her, keep her under control and thankfully she didn’t pull any magic out.”