By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
And just like that, the Del Rio Queens soccer team is back in sole possession of first place in District 30-6A.
Jadyn Casillas scored two goals and an assist and the Queens defense earned its sixth shutout in nine district matches as Del Rio defeated the Laredo Nixon Lady Mustangs Tuesday night at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.
The win gives the Queens a crucial three points and vaults them back into first place after falling into a tie with Nixon after the Lady Mustangs won this past weekend and Del Rio tied Laredo United. Del Rio has three more matches left in the regular season while Nixon has just two.
Nixon now falls into a tie for second place with Laredo United. United defeated Laredo LBJ Tuesday night to earn three points and up their point total to 22, the same as Nixon.
Tuesday night’s game between Del Rio and Nixon started with Del Rio on the attack, but Nixon was up to the challenge. The Lady Mustangs goalie snuffed out shot after hot, often in the face of intense pressure.
But Del Rio wasn’t going to be denied in front of the home fans.
Just over 15 minutes into the match, the ball wound up just in front of the Nixon net. Jadyn Casillas moved in and let fly a point blank shot at the goal and scored, putting Del Rio up 1-0.
While Del Rio wouldn’t score again in the half, the Queens’ defense stepped up to make that goal stand. Andrea Sauceda, Noelia Ibarra, Monika Gonzalez and Alexis Segura provided a solid last line of defense for goalie Zoey Ortiz. Ortiz didn’t see many shots come her way on the evening, earning another clean sheet before giving way to backup goalie Alize Neill near the end of the match.
The second half was a different story for the Queens.
Del Rio cranked up its pressure on Nixon’s goal and broke through less than 10 minutes into the half when Laurie Ignacio dribbled through the defense, sent a pass ahead to Cassandra Ochoa who then found Casillas who scored her second goal for a 2-0 Del Rio lead.
Casillas had a hand in Del Rio’s next goal as well. Casillas drew Nixon’s defense away from a handful of her teammates and the senior took advantage, passing to Ignacio who scored to make the score 3-0 midway through the second half.
Del Rio’s final goal came from Kaylee Hernandez. Hernandez had a few good runs on the goal in the first half but was unable to get a shot off. This time, Sauceda crossed a pass to Hernandez who buried the shot in the left side of the net for a 4-0 Del Rio advantage with less than four minutes left to play.
The Queens are scheduled to travel to Laredo Friday to face the Alexander Lady Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m.
Del Rio’s final home match of the regular season will be Tuesday, March 15, when the Queens hosts the Laredo United South Lady Panthers at 6:30 p.m. at Walter Levermann Ram Stadium.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
