HARLINGEN — The Harlingen Lady Cardinals got some redemption Tuesday after defeating the Harlingen South Lady Hawks at Boggus Stadium.
After falling to the Lady Hawks 2-1 in their district opener on Jan. 26, the Lady Cards flipped the script and were on the right side of a 2-1 victory over South for the just the sixth time in 21 years.
“I’m so proud of them because we finally played like a team and we knew we could win if we did that,” said Harlingen head coach Debra Hernandez. “If you look at the goals we scored, they were team goals. Every player out there played their heart out and that is what we wanted to see, and we know we are improving every game.
“We know how close we are to that district title and we know what we need to do, which is win out every game and that is what we are striving to do.”
If the Lady Cardinals wanted to make a strong statement early on and they got that after Brianna Garza’s spectacular 53-yard strike. With the wind at her back Garza was able to blast an attempt from deep down field to beat South’s goalkeeper just eight minutes into the contest.
After coming close on a few other attempts, the Lady Cardinals found the back of the net again in the first half. Senior star Leah Leal threaded a ball through South’s back four and connected with Kay-laniVasquez, who outpaced the defense and calmly placed the ball past South’s diving keeper for a 2-0 lead at the half.
“At the half I told the girls that we were doing really well but that 2-0 meant nothing because we know South was going to come out strong, so we have to make sure we’re marking and make sure we won every 50/50 ball,” said Hernandez. “If they want to get the win they have to finish strong and they did.”
Hernandez’s assumption was correct as Harlingen South’s Omar Pedroza saw the need for reinforcements up front and moved junior standout Mellory Grannum from her natural defensive position to a more forward one. The move paid dividends almost immediately after Grannum dribbled through Harlingen’s center backs effortlessly and scored to cut the Lady Cardinals lead to 2-1 just three minutes into the second half.
With 25 minutes remaining in the match, Harlingen received an opportunity to stretch the lead after Monique Rodriguez was taken down in the penalty area. However Leal’s penalty shot went just above the top crossbar to keep the score 2-1 in Harlingen’s favor.
With the time winding down, South’s offense attacked in waves and found a breakthrough with just seven minutes left. However, Alise Garza’s equalizer was called back for offsides.
With the win the Lady Cardinals grab three points, which puts them at 18 points – three points behind District 32-6A leaders Los Fresnos (21 points) and one point above Harlingen South (17 points).
