Clutch Edinburg High overcomes Edinburg North in shootout

EDINBURG — After Cesar Barajas’ heroic goal with 9 minutes left in regulation, the sixth-ranked Edinburg North Cougars seemed to have the District 31-5A championship in their grasp Friday night at Edinburg North.

But Edinburg High’s Teo Rodriguez had other plans, and two minutes after North’s go-ahead goal he blasted one from 30 yards, sending the game into extra-time where the Bobcats held on to take a 3-2 shootout win.

“It felt good to give our team the tie late. We were worried after they scored but we knew we had it in us to beat them. We never gave up and that was a key,” Rodriguez said. “This win means we’re strong and that we can go beyond expectations.”

What started off as a sluggish game with both teams struggling to establish their offensive rhythms in the first half, changed in the second. Edinburg North (10-4 district) picked up on the momentum it established during the last minutes of the first half, creating opportunities at the start of the second but were denied by a solid Bobcats squad which stood firmly at the back line.

Although Edinburg High’s defense did what it had to do, the Bobcats’ counteroffensive that immediately lost balls with bad decision making was another story.

Cougars coach Jose Gaspar admits his young team has had problems not finishing pressure games, and Friday was another example. After their first half goal at the 31st minute by senior Alan Alfaro, the Cougars seemed to let up. Juan Martinez’s tying penalty goal for the Bobcats (10-4) at the 19-minute mark sparked the Cougars, who answered with two consecutive shots at goal. The third would be the decisive one by Barajas giving them a 2-1 lead with nine minutes to go.

But again, Edinburg North’s defense stopped applying pressure and Rodriguez capitalized on the opportunity, hitting one to the bottom left post.

“We had this game but we slacked down on defense. We decided we wanted to attack some more and they got us late,” Gaspar said. “We only had seven minutes to kill and we allowed them to take a shot. We just broke down defensively.”

Bobcats goalie Jonathan Muñoz stopped the Cougars’ barrage of shots during the extra time and also came up big in the shootout, saving 3-of-5 shots to give his team the rivalry win.

“It was a very tough game tonight,” Edinburg High coach Luis Cardinals said. “I kept on telling them there was still time left and I think their effort late came up big for us. This game could have gone either way.”