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NEW BRAUNFELS — As the ball came crashing down inside New Braunfels Canyon’s box at Cougar Stadium Friday night, Melvin Molina was a deer in the headlights.
San Marcos head coach Lisa Mazur had been calling for her players to “chip it over” the heads of the hosts’ defense to Molina, betting that the junior forward could win in one-on-one situations. Senior midfielder Abel Benitez found room in the middle of the field and booted a long, high-arching pass toward Canyon’s goal.
Molina found himself wide open in front of goal, the ball hurling right at him.
“I just saw he chipped it into me and I was like, ‘I don't know what to do,’” Molina said. “Because if I had trapped it, there would have been three defenders on me.”
Molina knew he had to shoot the ball as soon as he could. Before the pass reached the ground, the senior flung himself up and bicycle kicked it past the goalkeeper for his first goal of the night, tying the match up at 1-1 with 23:10 remaining in the first half.
The forward scored another three in the game, resulting in a 4-4 draw that kept the Rattlers (6-6-4, 3-1-3 district) and Cougars (11-2-3, 3-1-3) tied for second place in District 26-6A.
“Phenomenal, phenomenal,” Mazur said of Molina’s performance. “He played his heart out. He's a competitor, he's passionate and he loves the sport.”
Molina’s goal in the first half proved crucial for San Marcos, as Canyon took a 3-1 lead into halftime. The hosts had kept possession for most of the match. Mazur looked to disrupt the scheme by adding an extra player to the midfield.
“We changed our formation a little bit and told them just to not quit, just keep giving effort, keep working,” Mazur said. “Because we've had a time where we scored four goals in 11 minutes in one game. So we knew we could do it.”
The Rattlers earned a free kick early in the second half, and Molina capitalized on the chance by firing a shot at goal from deep that found the back of the net, cutting the score 3-2.
Mazur continued calling on her players to chip it over during the period. Junior Jeremiah Banda followed instructions, sending a rainbow from the right side of the field that Molina finished off to knot the game up with 24:11 on the clock.
The team was dealt a red card and was restricted 10 players on the field. But with just under nine minutes left, the visitors were fouled inside the box on a corner kick and were rewarded with a penalty shot. Molina scored the goal with ease, giving San Marcos its first lead of the game, 4-3, with 8:36 remaining.
“I've just been working hard during practices, before games and stuff. I've been doing my thing, just focusing on the game and I'm really glad I had to help the team with four goals,” Molina said. “We were down 3-1 first half, but we talked things out in the first half, we decided that we needed more effort and stuff, so we came out hard second half and thank God I had to finish those goals.”
But the Rattlers were tagged with another red card two minutes later, leading to a PK for the Cougars with 1:33 to go. The hosts scored the equalizer, ending the game in a 4-4 tie.
Now a full district cycle in and still tied for second place, Mazur is feeling confident about her team. She wants to see them continue to improve as they head into the final stretch of the regular season.
“I'm feeling good right now. I think the boys are feeling good,” Mazur said. “I think we're going to keep growing and keep working and hopefully just keep improving. The second round, we don't want to let up, for sure. It's just the first round, so hopefully the second round, we can take care of teams we need to take care of and get through to the playoffs. That's our goal.”
Scoring four goals is becoming more common for Molina now. He pulled the feat on Jan. 24 in a 6-0 home win against San Antonio East Central. San Marcos will play the Hornets again on Tuesday in San Antonio at 7:15 p.m.
