DONNA — Donna North’s David Reyes scored the game’s lone goal just eight minutes into the first half and the Chiefs held off the PSJA Memorial Wolverines 1-0 during a Class 5A bi-district contest Tuesday at Bennie La Prade Stadium in Donna.
The victory moves the Chiefs into the area round, where they’ll take on La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at a date, time and location to be determined.
“We knew we were going against a good rival,” Reyes said. “We had already played them earlier this year, and they came in second from their district. We also were coming off a bad game during our last district game, but we turned it up tonight, scored early and won.”
Heavy winds played a big factor early on, with the ball flying and bouncing around erratically.
The ball’s unpredictable movement proved to make a difference during the eighth minute, with Reyes finding himself all alone with a loose ball right in front of his path.
The senior midfielder took advantage of the opportunity, powering it home to give Donna North the early 1-0 lead.
“I just saw the ball go back in the air,” Reyes said. “I saw the defender off to the side. I just opened to my left and let it go.”
With the lead in tow, Donna North turned to its defense and veteran goalkeeper Edson Balderas to help hold the lead.
The unit rose to the challenge, with the back line limiting the Wolverines’ opportunities, and Balderas came up with numerous saves when PSJA Memorial did find space.
“We knew it was a pretty even match,” Donna North head coach Andres Sanchez said. “PSJA Memorial had been doing good things throughout the season. We understood it was going to be a close game. This was not going to be a blowout by any means. We have a lot of respect for that team. We were able to come out on top and I think it was mainly because of our goalie and our defense that we were able to hang on.”
The Wolverines’ return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus ends in the bi-district round once again, not making it past the opening round since 2017.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs are headed back to the area round after bowing out in Round 1 last year, with their sights set on making it past the second round for the first time in program history.
“It is a huge win for us tonight,” Reyes said. “After a horrible game against Lopez and then everything we’ve been through, tonight is huge. I’m glad we picked it up for the playoffs. Stay tuned. Next round is going to be another good game and we’d like to see ourselves come out on top.”
