GAME TIME

EDINBURG - The admissions made by Edinburg North after Tuesday night's 3-2 win over PSJA High were fairly unusual. While the standard utterances of "They played well" and "It was a good, tough game" were heard, the Lady Cougars said some other things that made it sound like they knew they weren't going to play their best game.

"We have the type of team that plays up to the level of the opponent and unfortunately sometimes, they come down and play to the level of a weaker opponent," Edinburg North coach Danny Valdez said. "That's what happened (Tuesday)."

Against Sharyland in the area round, the Lady Cougars pulled one of the bigger upsets in the playoffs, winning 2-1. Forward Katy Lipscomb said that game, not the one against PSJA High on Tuesday, showed the Lady Cougars that they could make it to San Antonio.

Knowing that, her team's struggle on Tuesday was predictable.

"I think, it was more our last game against Sharyland when it hit us that, ‘Oh my gosh, we're one game from San Antonio,'" Lipscomb said. "That's when we were excited. (Against PSJA High), we were so focused. I think it hasn't hit me yet."

If Edinburg North plays to its opponent's level Friday in San Antonio, it would mean the Lady Cougars will play their best game of the season. In its first trip to the regional semifinals, Edinburg North will face District 26-5A champion San Antonio MacArthur, which finished the season 22-1-1 and as the San Antonio Express-News' top-ranked team.

Anything other than the Lady Cougars' best game could lead to a brief and painful stay at the regional tournament, and Valdez seems to know it.

"We're going to show up. We're going to play ball as hard as we can. We're not the most skillful team, but we've got a lot of heart and we play a lot of hard ball," Valdez said. "If we have to rough them up a little... we're going to do what we have to do to move on."

Against MacArthur, they'll have to more than they did against PSJA High to advance. And, they'll have to do it against a team that is used to being targeted.

"We don't really even think about that," MacArthur coach Lisa Kazur said. "I think it's not where you start but where you finish."

If the season ends Friday for Edinburg North, it will still be a successful campaign for the Lady Cougars. Before Tuesday, they had reached the regional quarterfinals three times, with each ending in disappointment.

But, on Tuesday, they reached one of their main goals for the year.

"We've been working on it for four years already with the same group. We finally achieved going up there," senior Jaclyn Cantu said. "I had never thought that it could be possible. Girls sports is super-competitive and it means a lot. It's history at Edinburg North."

Her teammate, fellow senior Anisa Abrego, echoed that, saying she even felt something in the halls at school Wednesday.

"It's pretty exciting," Abrego said. "Everybody's congratulating us and everybody's giving us a high-five."

Brian Sandalow covers high school soccer for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436.