By RGVFútbol/Staff

McALLEN, 21 Jan. - For the first time in several years, one of the host teams won the McAllen "Pat Leal Memorial" Tournament Saturday when McAllen freshman Humberto Silva scored the game winner with 1:04 left to play in the championship match to defeat Mission Veterans Memorial 1-0 at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.

"I was pretty scared, I didn’t know if a defender was going to come in and hit me," said Silva. "I just saw the goal open, no goal keeper, I stuck my foot in there to shoot it and thankfully it went in. My team’s really happy and my friends told me they were proud of me for being a freshman and scoring the game-winning goal.”

"The tournament wasn’t that easy," added Silva. "There were many strong teams, it was tough. We start district next week and our whole team is ready. Hopefully, we’ll be district champs."

As the minutes were winding down, it appeared that the game was going to end in a draw and have to be decided in penalty kicks. That’s when Silva appeared took a shot at a loose ball in the box and sent it past a sea of legs and in between the Mission Veterans goalkeeper and the right post to score the game-winner to give the Bulldogs the McAllen Tournament title.

"Last week we did pretty good at the Edinburg Tournament, we got third place. Seniors were heartbroken as soon as we found out we weren’t making the final," said McAllen head coach Fernando Segovia. "We were fortunate. We got out of the group, had some hard games, won in PKs. I just reminded the seniors before the game and during halftime, that this is what they wanted. I told them, ‘remember how you felt last week? You have to push it for 30 minutes.’ Both teams are tired, they played six games, and who puts it in, game over.”

"We were knocking, knocking, and knocking, and finally the door opened wide," added Segovia. "I’m proud of these guys, they’ve been working hard."

McAllen won Group 1 with a 2-1-0 record for 24 points and advanced to the quarterfinals, where the Bulldogs eliminated city rival McAllen Memorial 4-2 in penalty kicks after grappling to a scoreless tie.

In the semifinals, McHi edged out San Benito 5-4 in PKs after playing to a 1-all draw in a match up against two possible District 31-5A title contenders. Both teams moved over from Districts 30-5A and 32-5A, respectively, after last year’s realignment.

Albert Cantúa scored for the Bulldogs and Eric Campos tallied for the Greyhounds in regulation time of the semifinal.

Mission Veterans was the Group 2 runner up with a 1-1-1 record for 11 points. The Patriots ousted former 61-4A rival La Joya Juárez-Lincoln 4-2 in PKs after a scoreless tie in regulation time. In the semis, Mission Veterans eliminated Weslaco East in PKs, 3-2 after ending in 1-all in regulation.

Juan Alejos was the goal scorer for Weslaco East, while Robert Montemayor scored for the Patriots in the semifinals.

Reaching the title game was a confidence booster for both squads.

For the Bulldogs, it was vindication for a 1-0 loss against the same Patriots team in the semifinals at the Edinburg Cats Tournament and a good tune up for their District 31-5A opener this week. McAllen faced several 31-5A opponents in the two-day tournament. Four of those squads reached the quarterfinals.

"We do have a hard district because of the eight teams that qualified to the quarterfinals, four were from our district," said coach Segovia. "It tells me we have good soccer in 31-5A. We know we have a long road and have a lot of good teams in our district, and we’re just going to take it one game at a time."

Meanwhile, for Mission Veterans it was their second tournament championship game in as many weeks. The Patriots won the Cats Tournament last weekend.

"I’m real proud of the guys, they’ve worked hard," said Mission Veterans head coach William Proctor. "We haven’t scored a lot of goals in the tournaments and we’ve still pretty successful and that’s a credit to my defense. I think they’ve done a hell of a job both tournaments and I think they’re the main reason we’ve been doing so well."

The Patriots shut out opponents twice in group play and allowed only two regulation time goals in three finals matches at the McAllen Tournament. At the Edinburg Cats Tournament on Jan. 12, Mission Veterans went undefeated in the final phase of the competition and held opponents scoreless en route to the Cats title.

In the third place match of the McAllen Tournament, Weslaco East defeated San Benito. Both teams agreed to decide the match in penalty kicks and did not play the 60 minute game for third place.