“This would’ve been Moira time.”
McAllen High girls soccer head coach Patrick Arney quietly uttered those words on the sidelines as he watched his Bulldogs hold a commanding 4-0 lead over Corpus Christi Veterans in the Region IV-5A soccer second-round match.
But Moira wasn’t there. She collapsed while practicing soccer for her club team. Her dad rushed to her from watching on the sidelines, a parent’s nightmare manifesting, but it was too late. Moira Arney, a 15-year-old incoming sophomore, died Aug. 17, 2021.
“I had to give her mouth-to-mouth,” Arney said earlier this week, the pain still resonating in his voice. “She died in my arms. I still wish to wake up. It’s been a nightmare.”
Now, everywhere he looks during the McHi soccer matches, there are reminders of Moira, his Moira, the one he bragged about without really bragging. He loved talking about her and playing soccer. He still does, but he’s a bit more subdued about it. There are still times when the emotions are too great. He was her dad and coach. But it was cut way too short.
Several of her teammates wear her name and jersey number “Moira 16” on their inside forearms as a reminder – no, as inspiration, an almost living memorial and tribute. The Bulldogs will play in the Region IV-5A semifinals, also known as the Sweet 16 for their No. 16, against Boerne-Champion at 4:30 p.m. today at the Cabaniss Sports Complex in Corpus Christi. McHi was the first girls soccer team from the Valley to make it to the Final Four, doing so in 2018. Now, the Valley’s most successful girls soccer team is looking to do it again.
Teammate and lifelong friend Mia Reyna remembers that nightmarish day. Well, she remembers parts, the rest are blacked out from her mind and memory. Even today she says she still doesn’t think she’s processed it all.
“We’ve been friends and our families have been friends basically since me and Moira were born,” said Reyna, who was practicing on an adjacent field that day. “We made eye contact a couple times. Then I saw her going down and fall. After that everything is a blur, My mind kind of dismissed that type of trauma.”
Arney, after taking some time to mourn and undergo hip replacement, didn’t miss a beat when it came to returning to the pitch. Reyna said his return was a huge step toward healing for everyone involved.
“Im glad he’s back. Its a way of coping with the situation. And he’s happy,” Reyna said. “I hope he feels that this is his second family. In this type of distress, you need unity. I’m glad McHi soccer can bring that to him and his family.
It’s not the same, but this has made us strong.”
“They have bee so supportive, and giving and caring, I don’t think I’ve ever been unattached,” Arney said. “They’ve been everything someone could ask for.”
Now the attention turns to a Boerne-Champion team (17-3-4) that is ranked 67th in the nation and 18th in the state according to MaxPreps.com. McHi is 368th and 96th in comparable rankings. The Bulldogs have scored 128 goals this season and given up 38 while B-C has netted 90 goals and allowed just 13.
“I think they’re a mirror image of us but maybe just a little better,” Arney said. “They play very experienced and they are in a tough district and they beat Liberty Hill, who beat us first early in the year. It’s tough to face that type of aggression and pace.
“They are going to come after us, there’s no doubt about it, and force us to make good passes, making us play better. It’s different. We have to win the ball quick. It’s gonna be difficult to face a team that can possibly out possess us. We’re gonna need to play a perfect game.”
