Late goals lift La Joya

McALLEN — If defending District 30-5A champion La Joya needed a reminder that the talent level in boys soccer runs deep in the Rio Grande Valley, the Coyotes got one.

McAllen Memorial gave La Joya a little tap on the shoulder that a playoff berth in the Valley is not guaranteed.

Memorial, which led for most of the game, could have made a postseason berth dicey for La Joya but the Coyotes came up with two goals by Fernando Mendoza — 50 seconds apart — late in the game for a 2-1 win Friday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“This is the second round (in district) and the season doesn’t end until the end,” Coyotes coach Ronny Cabrera said. “Last year we won a lot of games 1-0. This year we have many injuries. That is not an excuse because everyone has injuries but the only thing I am saying is little by little I want to peak at the right time.

“We were not worried at all if we were going to be in fourth place. We are playing well and we want to take a shot at first place.”

La Joya (5-3 in district, 15 points) extends its lead to four points over fourth-place Memorial (3-6, 11 points). The Mustangs can’t sit too comfortably in the final playoff spot because Donna and Rio Grande City are within striking distance, tied for fifth.

The Coyotes, who pressured Memorial all night and suffered one near miss after another, could have easily left McAllen High in fourth place if it not for the late scores by Mendoza.

Down one goal, Mendoza was tripped and received a penalty shot with 6:45 left in the match and easily got the ball past Mustangs goalie Jesse Luna to tie the game at 1.

Less than one-minute later, Luna was the beneficiary of a direct kick after being knocked down by a Mustangs defender and connected on the game-winning goal with 5:55 to go in the contest.

“Yeah, I thought I was lucky to get the second shot,” Mendoza said. “I told myself, ‘This is my goal and I need to take it.’”

Memorial coach Mcsika Nguma was not a big fan of the two calls that went against his team and avoided saying much after the match.

“We did what we had to do,” Nguma said. “We played well but things beyond our control happened.”

With 26 seconds left in the game Memorial’s Jesse Martinez had a chance to tie the game with a direct kick but Coyotes goalie Sergio Castillo blocked the ball over the net to secure the victory.

“That was a fantastic save,” Cabrerra said. “Memorial came back strong, obviously. We were able to get a great save.”

Memorial’s Aaron Acevedo broke the scoreless tie with a goal in the 16th minute of play.

Peter Rasmussen covers high school sports for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448.