BY NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — La Joya Juarez-Lincoln had more chances, more speed and the more dynamic offense when it went head-to-head with Harlingen High in the area round of the Class 6A playoff Tuesday night at Richard Thompson Stadium.
The Cardinals nearly neutralized all of those advantages, however, with a tight defensive structure that allowed them to take a lead in second half. Juarez-Lincoln was undeterred and exploded for three-second half goals to prevail 4-2.
Melanie Olivares scored to tie the game at 2, and Pricila Hernandez buried the go-ahead goal.
Huskies coach Rick Garza said his team had no panic even after Harlingen took its first lead 5 minutes into the second half.
“They know what they have. More than anything, they know the attributes that each one of them carries,” Garza said. “We’ve been in this type of situation before where we’ve gone up, we’ve gone back down and we were a resilient team where we were able to bounce back from that.”
Prior to the game’s first goal, Harlingen’s defense was deploying an offsides trap to perfection.
On numerous occasions, Juarez-Lincoln had multiple players behind the last defender. Huskies defenders and midfielders had to play a delicate waiting game to allow their attack to get back into position.
The side referee’s checkered flag stopped multiple chances, including a play that would have sent the quick Olivares in alone.
Olivares, who factored in once the team beat the trap, said it took some time before her team could attack at will.
“We made some adjustments,” she said. “As soon as they were screaming, ‘Go down,’ we would back as fast as we could, just like them. We would retain the ball, and as soon as they were get near, we would kick it.”
Eventually, the Huskies found their moment to shine with 13:28 to play during the first half. A passing play that went from Ashley Segura to Olivares and finally to Yulissa Ramirez, who had an empty net to finish.
Harlingen High didn’t take long to answer back. A minute and 33 seconds later, the Cardinals scored their first goal on a long blast from Gillian Cespedes. Juarez-Lincoln keeper Jenny Perez got a hand on the ball, but not enough to keep the shot out.
Harlingen, which knocked off District 31-6A champs Edinburg North in bi-district, took advantage of a mistake by a defender to score early in the second half. Monique Rodriguez had a lot of net to shoot and booted the ball past Perez.
The situation was looking grim for Juarez-Lincoln for a quarter of an hour. Olivarez was on and off the field with an apparent foot injury, and Harlingen continued to defend well.
Freshman Stephanie Jimenez, who showcased dribbling abilities for most of the night in the midfield, was unleashed for the Huskies. She nearly took the ball from the deep midfielder all the way for a score, but shot the ball just high.
Olivares returned to the game right on time to score. After receiving a hard pass, the junior had time to collect her footing and sprint to the goal mouth. She kicked the ball hard from in close, giving the goalie no chance and letting out a huge fist pump before celebrating with her teammates.
“It (my foot) was hurting a little, but this one person told me that it was all mental,” Olivares said. “I tried to put it aside. I tried my best. I gave my all. I was not going to let my team down, and that’s when the goal game.”
As the half continued, overtime seemed increasingly likely. Harlingen’s defense continued to battle and earn inside positioning. Cardinals freshman Carissa Escamilla was noticeable in the second half as she boxed out and kept Huskies forward from using their speed to beat her.
With less than 10 minutes to play, sophomore Pricila Hernandez took matters into her own hands. On a ball that was rolling back to the Harlingen keeper, Hernandez stuck a foot out to disrupt the normally routine play.
She was able to get around both defender and keeper to tap in the ball that would send Juarez-Lincoln to third round.
Three minutes later, a Jimenez centering pass was misplayed and an own goal gave the Huskies cushion to end the game.
Harlingen High coach Debra Galvan said she’s seen encouraging things from her program in three years at the helm. In back-to-back years, it knocked off two Edinburg foes — Vela last season and North in 2019.
“Seeing them grow, that’s the key for any coach,” Galvan said. “You just want to see your team growing every year. Last year we made it this far. We lost to McHi. This year, again, we made it this far and we lost. We’re hoping next year is the year we can go further.”
This Juarez-Lincoln group team is the first since 2012 to win a playoff game. It has a chance at making program history by extending that run, when it takes on Laredo Alexander, which eliminated Edinburg High 2-1 on Tuesday night, in the regional quarterfinals.
Olivarez is happy to help rewrite history and gain respect for the girls.
“As you see, we’re making history,” Olivares said. “Juarez was mostly known for guys soccer. We did not like that because the girls were put aside. Ever since June we’ve been working really hard to be where we’re at right now.”