EDINBURG — The La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Huskies haven’t lost a district contest in 1,442 days, their last defeat coming against Mission High on Feb. 6, 2018.
Since then, the Huskies have amassed a 51-0-2 record against district opponents, while winning five straight district crowns.
With seven players out of the lineup during Tuesday’s District 31-6A opener against Edinburg High, the Huskies streak seemed to be in jeopardy.
Playing alongside a mix of freshman and junior varsity players, returning starter Omar Solis took matters into his own hands, netting a pair of goals to lead the Huskies to a 3-1 victory over the Bobcats at Edinburg High.
“Today the kids showed up,” La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Huskies head coach Victor Ramos said. “The younger kids came over here to Edinburg against a very good team. They played really well, and the streak continues. It’s great.”
Trailing 3-1 at the break, the Bobcats turned up the tempo during the second half. The aggressive approach nearly paid dividends during the 65th minute, with junior Dilan Cazares’ header sailing just right of the goal.
The Bobcats were unable to capitalize on their shot opportunities during the second half, with six shots on goal all failing to find pay dirt.
“We made some costly mistakes in the beginning of the first half,” Edinburg High head coach Luis Cardenas said. “We evened out the game, but we could not convert on the opportunities we had.”
The Huskies kicked off their title defense in dominating fashion, jumping out to a 3-0 lead during the first half.
Solis opened the scoring for the Huskies, intercepting a Bobcats pass during the 13th minute and finding a clear path to the net for the goal.
Following Solis’ second goal, Juarez-Lincoln’s Fernando Ortuño gave the Huskies a 3-0 advantage, tapping the ball into the bottom of the net off a corner kick.
Edinburg High’s Miguel Solis scored the lone goal for the Bobcats, converting a penalty kick with three minutes left in the first half.
Despite the win, the Huskies have a long road ahead as they prepare to chase their sixth straight district title, Ramos said, dealing with limited practice time and players due to COVID-19.
“It’s a very unclear future right now. We have a lot of issues with COVID coming in and all that. But we’re going to try to have practices at least two days in a week. We haven’t been able to do that in a while. It’s been difficult but the kids are here and doing their best. Hopefully we have the time to start getting to the level that we need.”
The Huskies return to action Friday, hosting the PSJA High Bears at La Joya ISD Stadium. Meanwhile, the Bobcats take on crosstown rival Edinburg Economedes at 8 p.m. Friday at Edinburg Economedes.
