Rally Ants: Progreso erases two-goal deficit, advances to regional finals

CORPUS CHRISTI —Progreso’s boys soccer found itself in unfamiliar territory during Saturday’s regional semifinal, trailing at the break for the first time this season.

A pair of first half goals by La Vernia gave the Bears a 2-0 advantage over the state title favorites.

The Red Ants didn’t waver, however, responding with three second half goals to rally past the Bears 3-2 during the Region IV-4A DI semifinal match at Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi.

“It is difficult to know what to say because we haven’t been down all season,” Magallan said. “To lift their spirts, we needed to get them to believe we could do it. We just couldn’t make any mistakes. We had them in the first half. Thankfully we had two big goals by Carlos Lopez and we were able to win this game.”

La Vernia drew first blood against Progreso on Friday, with John Mecke converting a penalty kick to give the Bears a 1-0 lead during the 20th minute.

The Bears struck again quickly, forcing a Progreso error and turning it into a counterattack finished by junior Emiliano Perales less than a minute later. The goal marked just the second time this season the Red Ants have allowed multiple scores.

“We had doubts we could win,” Lopez said. “We feel like we didn’t have a choice though. With this team that we have, we knew we deserved to win. That’s the mentality we had.”

Despite trailing at the break, the Red Ants looked locked in heading into the second half, attacking relentlessly in search of their first goal.

The goal ultimately came during the 53rd minute, with sophomore captain Cesar Meza letting it fly from past midfield and sailing the ball over the goalkeeper’s head to make it 2-1.

Progreso’s Cesar Meza dribbles the ball during a Region IV-4A DI semifinal match against La Vernia Saturday at Cabaniss Stadium in Corpus Christi. (Courtesy Photo)

“He’s the one lifting our team up,” Magallan said. “He’s the one who’s constantly on them telling them we can do anything and not to get down. Thanks to God he made that first goal to get us started today.”

Meza’s goal shifted the momentum to the Red Ants, with Progreso turning up the intensity after the score.

The constant pressure resulted in the game-tying goal by Carlos Lopez, who delivered a strike from just outside the box to make it 2-2 with 24 minutes left.

With time dwindling down, Magallan called on Lopez once again, moving the midfielder up to play forward.

Magallan’s call paid dividends less than a minute after making the move, with Lopez curving a ball into top right corner to give the Red Ants their first lead of the game.

Progreso’s Carlos Lopez (8) celebrates one of his two goals during a Region IV-4A DI semifinal match against La Vernia Saturday at Cabaniss Stadium in Corpus Christi. (Courtesy Photo)

“I don’t even know how to express myself in this moment,” Lopez said. “I wanted my team to win. I feel happy for them and for me. They gave me the ball. I cut in and saw I had the space and the angle, so I just shot it. Thankfully it turned into a goal.”

With the lead on their side, the Red Ants went on the defensive, keeping the Bears away from enemy territory to hang on for the 3-2 comeback victory.

The win marks a second straight year the Red Ants have defeated the Bears in the regional semifinals.

Prorgreso advances to the regional finals for a second straight year. They’ll take on the winner between Hidalgo and Davenport at a date, time and location to be determined.

“We had to adjust in the second half,” Magallan said. “We had someone tell us we had to move around a bit. We just had to keep touching through the ground. Thanks to God we were able to do it. The goals came how we got them and the kids just gave it their all.”

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