Rattlers begin second district round with win over Hornets

San Marcos began its second round of District 26-6A play with a 4-1 win over East Central on Friday. 

The Rattlers used two goals from sophomore forward Melvin Molina to jump start the four-goal performance against the Hornets. 

“Thanks to my teammates because they’re always looking for me and I’m always working hard for them and working hard for the team,” Molina said. “Thank God I scored. I’m glad I was able to help the team.”

San Marcos received a week to prepare for East Central. Head coach Lisa Mazur said the break in play was big for the Rattlers. 

“I think we rebooted to be honest with you,” Mazur said. “It helped tremendously. We worked on a lot of things, changed up some things and so (it helped) a lot.” 

San Marcos came out sluggish to start Friday’s match but Molina got the Rattlers on the board with his first goal of the night in the 14th minute. 

Molina extended San Marcos’ lead to 2-0 with his second goal in the 46th minute. 

East Central sliced the Rattler advantage in half with a goal in the 60th minute. But San Marcos quickly answered to push its lead to 3-1. 

Senior forward Frankie Menchaca scored in the 66th minute to secure the 4-1 win for the Rattlers. 

“We had a whole week to practice for this game,” Molina said. “We were working hard in practice. We play as a team. And the key was play as a team and communication on the field. We came out flat in the beginning of the game but we stepped it up.”

San Marcos returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Converse Judson inside San Marcos Toyota Rattler Stadium at 7:15 p.m. 

“We’re going to keep on working hard to get all the wins and get into the playoffs,” Molina said.