PHARR — The Harlingen High and PSJA High girls water polo teams entered the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter of their Region IV-6A quarterfinal match deadlocked.
Cardinals head coach Danny Euresti called a timeout and drew up a play for the final possession. Harlingen executed as planned, as senior Davina Gutierrez drilled a shot from 20 feet away to put the Cardinals ahead for good with an 18-17 win over the Bears at the City of Pharr Natatorium. Harlingen High advances to this weekend’s Sweet 16.
“We had 30 seconds on the clock and 30 seconds on the shot clock, so I was just telling them this is our game,” Euresti said. “Smart ball, smart passes, don’t give them anything. We started off slow, we executed and held on defense, and got the win.”
Gutierrez, the team’s only senior, led the Cardinals with eight goals and four assists.
“Coach basically told us everything needs to be perfect. Perfect passes, perfect idea of where to place the ball,” she said. “I’ve been in that position before, especially last year, my junior year. I shot it and it went in.”
Harlingen High advances to face the winner between Alamo Heights and San Antonio Brandeis on Saturday at the Region IV tournament. Match details are to be determined.
The Bears erased a 12-7 halftime deficit to climb back into the game during the fourth quarter. Paloma Sosa tied the game at 17 with 30 seconds remaining before Harlingen hit the game-winner. PSJA High’s Kailey Vega scored a match-high nine goals.
“I couldn’t be any prouder of my girls. All year long, we’ve shown this type of resilience,” PSJA High head coach Pedro Saavedra said. “We kind of marked this team since last year, the Harlingen Cardinals eliminated us from last year’s district tournament by one goal, also. I think we’ve started a great rivalry between both teams. We split our games in the regular season so I knew it was going to come down to the fourth quarter. The Lady Cardinals played a great game. Our girls showed the grit and resilience that they need to play with anybody, we just couldn’t get the lucky bounces in the end.”
BOYS WATER POLO
PSJA NORTH 18, HARLINGEN HIGH 11: At Pharr, the Raiders’ offense found its rhythm after a tightly contested first quarter to punch its ticket to Saturday’s Sweet 16.
PSJA North, the District 32-6A champion, won both its regular-season meetings against the Cardinals and picked up the trifecta with Tuesday’s Round 3 playoff victory.
“I’m amazed how well they’ve done and adjusted to every single game they’ve come across. Every team has been different and I think my boys have persevered, and I’m very, very proud of them,” PSJA North head coach Leslie Richardson said.
Jayden Ybarra led the Raiders with nine goals and five assists. Kaleb Dallas added five goals, and Josue Rocha scored four.
“Our chemistry wasn’t the best at first, but it got a lot better as the game went on and we picked it up at the end,” Ybarra said.
Kristopher Cantu scored a team-high six goals to lead the Cardinals.
PSJA North will take on the winner of San Antonio Brandeis and San Antonio Clark in a regional semifinal Saturday in San Antonio. Match details are to be determined.
HARLINGEN SOUTH 11, SAN ANTONIO HOLMES 7: At Pharr, the Hawks used a second-half surge to storm past the Huskies and advance to the regional tournament.
Harlingen South held San Antonio Holmes to one goal during the second half and poured in six of its own.
“We had to make some adjustments. At first I noticed the kind of defense and what they’re doing, we made changes and we were able to capitalize off of that,” Harlingen South head coach Hector Castaneda Jr. said. “Overall, it was the team that did their job, made those adjustments together as a team and we came out on top.”
Frank Pimentel led the Hawks with four goals, and Obed Johnston added three.
“This is just how we play. We come back almost every game,” Pimentel said. “We’ve been used to being in slow starts. We let them get the best of us in the beginning. That’s something that’s happened before and we’ve come back from bigger deficits, so that’s not something we’re unused to.”
Harlingen South will face Alamo Heights in a regional semifinal Saturday in San Antonio. Match details are to be determined.
GIRLS WATER POLO
HARLINGEN SOUTH 15, MISSION VETERANS 7: At Pharr, the Hawks emerged victorious against the Patriots in a battle of District 32-6A and District 31-6A’s champions.
Isabela Pereda was unstoppable on the offensive end with a match-high nine goals. The Hawks’ defense locked down and found Pereda around the net for consistent scoring from start to finish. Sophia Williams scored three goals, and Mia Gonzalez added two.
“This was a team effort. I didn’t do this alone — we’re all in sync,” Pereda said. “We all have to listen to each other. Communication, that’s probably the biggest thing. ”
Mission Veterans’ first season competing in water polo comes to an end with a District 31-6A championship and bi-district and area-round playoff wins. Belen Aguirre scored a team-high four goals for the Patriots.
“They did a great job and fought til the end. I’m really proud of the seniors and juniors I have on the team. They really showed our freshman what it takes not to give up,” Mission Veterans head coach Melissa Reyna said. “It was an aggressive game at the end, and they did the best that they could. We saw they were blowing people out by 20, and the fact that we kept it pretty close in our first year playing together is great.”
Harlingen South moves on to face San Antonio Brennan in Round 4 on Saturday in San Antonio. Match details are to be determined.
