ALICE — McAllen Memorial scored seven goals in the second half — including one from goalkeeper Karen Oviedo — and the wild, galloping Mustangs claimed a 9-0 win over Victoria West on Friday to advance to a UIL Class 5A regional quarterfinal.
Zyanya Nguma scored three goals, and six different Mustangs found the back of the net in the one-sided performance. Oviedo showed her defensive prowess first with some saves as West tried to go over her, but she completely shut down that avenue.
“Zyanya’s confidence is getting better and better, and she has some skills as a freshmen where others aren’t expecting it,” Memorial coach Matthew Kaiser said. “She’s coming into her own and knowing she’s on a different level, and can do things with her speed and skill.
Then, up 6-0, West was called for a foul in the penalty box. Memorial coach Matthew Kaiser looked to the other end of the field and asked Oviedo, “You want it?”
There was absolutely no hesitation. Oviedo set the ball down, stepped back and took the shot into the bottom corner, passing a diving Victoria West keeper.
“It’s one of those special moments,” Kaiser said. “You don’t get them very often.”
Sofia Alaniz-Choy scored twice, once on a header and the other from more than 40 yards, and Chloey Mejia, Kennedy Kaiser and Victoria Estrada all scored, showing the wide and excessively large arsenal the Mustangs have possessed all year.
“Sofia inspires the girls, she’s our rock,” Kaiser said. “She’s calm and collected, and they build off her energy. That long-distance shot set the tone, and she made it look easy.”
The District 31-5A champions scored six goals during a 22-minute span Friday, dominating possession while it looked as if Victoria’s strategy was to clog the middle of the field and make Memorial attack from the wings.
It didn’t work.
“Over the course of the season, we have faced that park-the-bus defensive mentality,” Kaiser said. “We talked about it at the half. We’ve gone through it before, take shots from distance, work the sidelines, cross back to the middle, and we knew wind would help us. And they executed.”
Kaiser lost the flip and Memorial will play at Corpus Christi Flour Bluff at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
“I told the girls last year when we were on the road, I’ll keep losing the flip if you keep winning the games,” Kaiser said.
Flour Bluff advanced with a win in PKs after double overtime against Harlingen South.
