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CORPUS CHRISTI – It’s hard to pinpoint at which moment the McHi girls soccer team finally broke the will of Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial.
It could’ve been sometime during a stretch in the first half when Julianna Millin scored three of her four goals. Maybe it was when Gabby Gonzalez scored as the buzzer sounded, ending the first half with a 4-0 lead.
Heck, it might have been as soon as the whistle blew to start the match, and McHi was like the big sister not wanting to share the ball with their younger siblings.
In any case, it was a dynamic and dominant performance as the Bulldogs advanced to the UIL Class 5A Regional Quarterfinals with a 6-0 win over Veterans during Thursday’s Area Round at Cabaniss Field.
The offense was clearly clicking, the defense performed like the “Earth” benders from the Avatar series, blocking, stopping or crushing anything that came on their side of the field and the announcer was so baffled by the magical showing that she announced names from the roster following goals, shots, corners attempts of players not even in the game.
It was that dominating.
“Vets wasn’t a bad a team at all – this was good for us,” McHi coach Patrick Arney said. “We’ve had some good games but this was special. The girls were amazing.”
Millin scored her fourth goal during the second half, catching Veterans in a offsides trap that clearly didn’t work, and getting a perfectly times pass from Savannah Ruiz to make it 5-0. Emmory Henderson added a goal to help complete what may have been the most complete game of the season for McHi. Millin has 56 goals during district and playoff games and more than 60 counting preseason non-district contests.
“You could tell right away she was in the zone, just ready to go and get after it,” Arney said. “It was a great performance from our attackers, our defenders and the midfielders. Just complete.”
Veterans had their chances early, one time with a breakaway that surely looked as if it would end up being a 1-on-1 attack but a resilient Autumn Curl tracked down the defender and the threat was thwarter.
“She just zoomed,” Arney said. “It’s the fastest I’ve ever seen her go, she has come s far this year.”
Curl, Lopez and defensive stalwart Maisen Dubrule controlled the pace of the game, moving the ball with ease around the field then finding Ruiz or another midfielders to begin another attack.
“It was fun to see them create our offense and make plays all night,” Arney said. “You want the girls clicking at this time of year and they all stepped up to the challenge. But Vets was chasing us down pretty hard. They were hustling and were a good team.
“I love the way our girls were able to problem solve when they had questions. That shows a lot.”
McHi will play Flour Bluff in the regional quarterfinals with details to be determined Monday.