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When two teams – rivals – are loaded with all-star rosters and face off against one another, one would expect to see high intensity, incredible skills on display and potentially one of those instant classics.
McAllen High and McAllen Memorial didn’t disappoint anyone’s expectations.
Kennedy Kaiser scored in the 70th minute, blistering a shot past a diving keeper from 20 yards and McAllen Memorial captured an exciting 4-3 victory over city rival and long-time nemesis McAllen High on Friday at Memorial’s Joe Boxer Stadium.
The win improves Memorial to 3-0 in district 31-5A play, while McHi drops to 2-1. It was also the Mustangs’ first win against the Bulldogs since 2016.
The victory also leaves Memorial alone in first place in the district, the only remaining undefeated team just three matches into the district season.
The Mustangs rallied from three deficits – 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2. Chloey Mejia tied the game for the final time in the 68th minute off a corner kick with a powerful header.
“It was a beautiful goal,” McAllen Memorial head coach Matthew Kaiser said. “She hit it well and placed it at the same time.”
McHi led 1-0 at the half but the teams exchanged blows in a flurry during the second, scoring six times during that span, giving fans what they expected with two of the most powerful offenses facing one another and going toe-to-toe.
Sofia Alaniz-Choy tied the game for a second time at two about 15 minutes into the second half. Alaniz-Choy also sent some long passes downfield as Memorial pressed offensively throughout the match.
“A good defense is when we’re on their side of the field and taking shots,” Kaiser said. “We knew from the beginning we just can’t sit in front of the goal and expect nothing to go bad. Late and with the lead, the plan was to drop one forward and play defensively to kill some time – with 5 minutes left went into the formation. With two minutes left we played a lot of defense.”
Julianna Millin scored her third goal of the game for a 3-2 lead after picking up a through ball in the middle from Savannah Ruiz, who had three assists in the match. Millin juked around a rushing keeper, and with a defender trying to run her down, Millin nailed the open-netter in the 60th minute. The junior has scored eight goals over the past two matches.
“They had three players we knew we couldn’t leave along – Julianna, Savannah and Gabby (Gonzales),” Kaiser said. “We made some mistakes and they took advantage of them. That’s what great players do. She (Millin) is going to punish you and as you would expect, she finished them off.”
Coming into the game, Memorial had scored 15 goals during their first two district matches against PSJA North and Edinburg Vela. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs scored eight in their first pair of matches against McAllen Rowe and PSJA North.
Freshman Danara Cardenas scored to tie the game at 2.That score was an answer to Millin’s goal during the 50th minute for the Bulldogs’ second lead of the night.
“I was just hoping the girls would stay confident,” said Kaiser, adding that he purposely didn’t remember how many matches it has been since his Mustangs beat the Bulldogs, other than “it’s been a lot.” “I was very happy they didn’t get discouraged and kept believing they were in the game.
“It’s a big thing for me as a coach for them to understand that things don’t always go your way but you keep fighting and scrapping.”
Memorial travels to Sharyland on Tuesday while McHi plays at Pioneer.
