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David took down Goliath on Thursday, as fourth-place Donna High’s boys soccer team took down district champ Sharyland High 6-5 in penalty kicks in their Class 5A bi-district match at Donna High School.
Freshman Hugo Rodriguez made the game-winning kick overtime, and Elias De La Rosa made the big stop to seal the deal for the Redskins.
The game was knotted 2-2 after regulation.
“I told our kids that in the playoffs, where a team placed didn’t matter,” Donna coach Mario Hernandez said. “We were playing a good team and we had to be focused. We wanted to pressure them, from minute 1, and we never stopped running.
“We couldn’t be afraid. And we weren’t. We had fun and we executed.”
Eduardo Escobar and Jorge Salinas, another freshman, scored for the Redskins in regulation. But it was De La Rosa’s stop that proved huge.
“We call him ‘Hulk’,’” Hernandez said. “He’s a strong, big kid, and he said he’d do his best. He got the job done.”
Donna, which got into the playoffs after Donna North was disqualified because of a UIL violation earlier this week, advances to play either Medina Valley or Victoria East in the area round next week.
HIDALGO 4, LA FERIA 0: Hidalgo set up a date with La Vernia in the area round next week.
The Pirates got goals from Hilario Bermudez, Frankie Sanchez, Mario Garcia and Cesar Ornelas.
“We played a good game,” coach Zeke Morales said. “We touched the ball quite a bit and got our chances. We’re still hungry. We’re starting to peak.”
Morales said the Pirates will play La Vernia at Corpus Christi or Calallen next Thursday.
GIRLS
SHARYLAND HIGH 3, BROWNSVILLE PACE 0: The Lady Rattlers advanced with ease and will play either San Antonio Southwest or Flour Bluff in next week’s area round.
Sharyland High got two goals from Vanessa Guevara and another from Isabella Maldonado.
“We were a little rusty, having not played in a week and a half,” coach Aaron Clemons said. “But we got up early, managed to play everybody and nobody got hurt. That’s the biggest thing.”
SHARYLAND PIONEER 5, EDCOUCH-ELSA 0: At Edcouch-Elsa High School, the Lady Diamondbacks scored all five goals in the second half to defeat the Lady Yellowjackets. Hannah Padilla led the team with two goals.
“There was a pretty strong wind in the first half and it took us a while to get adjusted,” Pioneer coach JJ Lopez said. “We played a bit more defensive-minded than we would have liked. If we held that defense, we knew we’d have an advantage in the second half.”
The Lady Diamondbacks play the winner of today’s match between Victoria East and Laredo Martin at Cabanas High School.
ROMA 4, DONNA NORTH 3 (PKs): At Roma High School, the Lady Gladiators beat the Lady Chiefs in penalty kicks. Priscilla Martinez, a senior, scored the winning goal.
“We have injuries to two of our defensive players,” Roma assistant coach Alberto Castillo said. “We really wanted to protect the goal. If we didn’t score, we didn’t want them to score on us.”
The Lady Gladiators will play the winner of today’s match between Victoria West and Uvalde in the area round.
HIDALGO 5, RIO HONDO 0: The Pirates shut down Rio Hondo to advance to next week’s area playoffs.
LAREDO UNITED 6, McALLEN ROWE 5 (PKs): At Laredo, the Lady Warriors fell after being tied 3-3 after regulation.
“It was a crazy game from start to finish,” Rowe coach John Martinez said. “We missed a PK in overtime that would have put us ahead.”
Victoria Castro scored two goals for Rowe. Sarah Rodriguez added the other.
HARLINGEN SOUTH 6, EDINBURG HIGH 0: The Lady Bobcats saw their season end in Harlingen as the Hawks advanced to the area round of the playoffs.