By Brian Argabright
When two rivals meet anything can happen, and Monday’s soccer match between Del Rio and Eagle Pass was no exception.
Eagle Pass (2-8 in district) scored less than two minutes into the match, but it was Del Rio (8-2 in district) who had the final say as the Queens locked up another district win with a 4-1 victory over their longtime rivals.
The Lady Eagles may be near the bottom of the district standings, but they struck first against Del Rio when the Queens failed to clear the ball in front of their own net and Eagle Pass converged to shoot one past goalie Zoey Ortiz for a 1-0 lead just over a minute into the contest.
The score stayed that way for nearly 20 minutes before Del Rio provided the equalizer. Laurie Ignacio dribbled up the near sidelines before dropping a pass off to teammate Ema Rojas. Rojas then fired a shot from about 20 yards out that found the net and tied the match at 1-1.
With just under four minutes left to play in the first half, Del Rio struck again.
This time, Mia Ortiz was the recipient of a perfect pass from Marintia Cortez and she turned that pass into paydirt as her goal put Del Rio up, 2-1.
Eagle Pass remained aggressive throughout the first half as they challenged the Del Rio defense multiple times. Twice Del Rio goalkeeper Zoey Ortiz had to put her body on the line to smother the ball and snuff out a Lady Eagles’ attack, keeping her team ahead.
Things got even more physical in the second half as Del Rio and Eagle Pass players battled for every touch. Eventually, players from both teams were given yellow cards after exchanging swipes at each other.
Meanwhile, the Queens added to their lead.
Gisselle Castañeda was taken down in the penalty area during a run on goal resulting in a penalty kick for the Queens. Cassandra Ochoa took the kick and ripped it into the goal to make it 3-1 with just over 18 minutes left to play.
Two minutes later, the Queens sealed the win as Rojas racked up her second goal of the match.
Del Rio will play its final home match of the regular season Thursday at 6 p.m. at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium against Laredo United South.
