HARLINGEN — After a six-year playoff drought, the Harlingen Lady Cardinals make a long-awaited return trip to the soccer postseason this week.
Starters like Leah Leal, Kay-lani Vasquez and Arley Gonzalez helped the Lady Cardinals finish the season with an 11-3 district mark.
Harlingen finished the season tied with Harlingen South for second place, but took the third seed in the playoffs. The Lady Cardinals are at Edinburg Vela at 6 p.m. Thursday at in a Class 6A bi-district match.
“We are ready,” said Harlingen head coach Debra Galvan. “The girls are excited and eager to take on the first game of the playoffs. We are happy to make the playoffs, but we know we can play harder and continue to move further. We know from here on out it is win or the season is over.”
Despite being out of action for 17 days since the end of the regular season, the Lady Cardinals are eager to hit the pitch.
“We are taking it one game at a time because we are not ready to have our season end,” said Galvan. “We want to prove that we are a legit team that belongs in the playoffs.”
But to do so the team must get by Edinburg Vela, a team that they are not taking likely.
“We know that our defense needs to be ready for anything and we need our offense to finish up front,” said Galvan. “We are looking to pass, but we are also focusing on taking long shots if the wind stays strong.”
The furthest the Lady Cardinal soccer program has ever made it in the playoffs was the regional semifinals in 2012. That year Harlingen defeated BrownsvilleRivera 1-0, McAllen Rowe 3-2 on penalty kicks and Los Fresnos 2-1 before eventually losing to San Antonio Churchill 7-0.
Should the Lady Cardinals succeed against their bi-district opponent this week, they will take on either McAllen or Laredo United South next week in the area round.
