HARLINGEN — Monique Rodriguez’s lone first-half goal was enough to see the Harlingen Lady Cardinals past the Los Fresnos Lady Falcons 1-0 on Tuesday evening at Boggus Stadium.
With the win, the Lady Cardinals inched closer to grabbing a share of the District 32-6A title, however they still need help if they are to overtake the Lady Falcons for the top spot.
“In the first half we struggled a little getting back into momentum,” said Harlingen head coach Debra Galvan. “In the second half they played exactly how we wanted them to play and they started winning every 50/50 ball; they came out strong and we finally started to finish more.”
Harlingen came close to scoring a pair of goals in the second half. With 16 minutes remaining in the match, the Lady Cards used their speed to counter Los Fresnos’ attacking prowess as Kaylee Gushwa fired into the back of the net only to be called for offsides.
Two minutes later, as the Lady Falcons pushed up field looking for the equalizer, Rodriguez set up Kay-LaniVasquez for another goal. Unfortunately for the Lady Cardinals, that goal also got called back for offsides.
“Losing to them the last time at their home field, we really wanted to get this win especially because we know what is at stake,” said Galvan. “We wanted to win by more, but any win against Los Fresnos is a win because they are a good team.”
Currently, Los Fresnos sits on top of the league standing with 29 points, Harlingen and Harlingen South are tied for second with 27 points, and BrownsvilleRivera rounds out the top four with 25 points.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Harlingen will be hoping BrownsvilleRivera or Weslaco High can come out with a win against the Lady Falcons.
GAME BALL: After the match, the Lady Cardinals’ game ball went to Monique Rodriguez, who scored the winning goal. Rodriguez remained a threat the entire evening as she went looking for a second goal.
“Monique has really stepped it up in this second half of the season,” said Galvan. “Kay-Lani is usually our scorer, but Monique has been coming in and has been finishing like she’s been asked to. She is aggressive on the field and wins the balls, and is finishing so she has become a key player that we look to.”
