South scores late to tie McHi in showcase

Alexis Fonseca scored with 1:57 remaining in the match and Harlingen South tied McAllen High at 1-1 during the final day of the McAllen ISD Girls Soccer Showcase.

McHi’s Charlotte Garza scored off a nice touch pass from Savannah Ruiz more than midway through the first half for a 1-0 lead that look like it might hold. The Bulldogs had multiple opportunities and won the ball control game but the Hawks’ defense and keeper Priscilla Pena didn’t break down.

“Our girls got the ball back on the wing and gave it off to our other forward and she sent a through ball straight to the middle,” Fonseca said. “I ran from the left side straight to the mid and shot it outside and it curved around the goal.

“As soon as I let it go, I knew it was going to go in. “

While a hot winter sun beamed down on McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium, heat from the intensity of the match far surpassed the actual temperature at several points,

Players taunted, trash talked and/or stared down one another and both sides got the occasional elbow, shoulder, or push in while also, most of the times at least, fighting for the ball at the same time.

After the game, McHi players walked off the field frustrated and dejected just like other matches they have lost while South celebrated and coaches talked to their players about what it meant to tie a team that reached the Elite 8 last year and the only girls program in the Valley to reach state.

McHi freshman goalkeeper Zoie Trevino put together a more-than solid start for the Bulldogs, not being broken until late on a shot that was perfectly taken.

“Our goal was to win or tie,” Fonseca said. “We didn’t want to lose and we just kept fighting.”

McHi coach Patrick Arney said that he felt like his team controlled possession and style of play but just didn’t put away opportunities.

“We had lots of chances and we were playing well, thats sometimes the way the ball bounces, he said. “It feels like a loss to us. We feel like we controlled the game and didn’t put away chances. We can’t take anything for granted and hopefully this is a wakeup call for us. We have to hustle for 80 minutes and have to take chances when we have them.

Arney added that the biggest thing to work on as the District 31-5A opener looms with city rival Mcallen Rowe is what the program has been known for over the years – control.

“The difference was not being able to control the ball quickly,” he said. “They are coming at you and putting pressure on you and you have to decide what you are going to do – you have to know, and do it and live with the consequences.”

“We have several girls fairly new to varsity and especially this level, but I’m pleased with the weekend.”