Andress girls soccer team outlasts Del Valle to reach Region I-5A semifinals

Felix F. Chavez, El Paso Times
·2 min read
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The Andress girls soccer team's will to win can never be questioned and that was evident on Saturday in a Class 5A regional quarterfinal matchup with Del Valle at Eastwood High School

The Eagles never led in 80 minutes of regulation and the 20 minutes of overtime, but managed to find a way to answer Del Valle's three goals to force a penalty shootout after the teams were deadlocked at 3. In the shootout, Andress had just a little more and outscored the Conquistadores, 4-3, to advance to next weekend's Region I-5A Tournament in Wichita Falls.

It is the fourth time Andress has earned a trip to the regional tournament. The Eagles were the District 1-5A champion and Del Valle was the District 2-5A champion.

"We have nine seniors who have worked hard for this and this team has worked so hard for this all year," Eagles coach Angela Mendiola said. "We've had some close matches this year and our kids find a way. Del Valle is a great team and they played hard and did some great things. It's tough when we have to knock another El Paso team out of the playoffs."

Andress defeated Del Valle on Saturday in the Class 5A, girls soccer regional quarterfinals at Eastwood High Schoo. The match was tied 3-3 after regulation and Andress outscored the Conquistadores 4-3 in a shootout.
Andress defeated Del Valle on Saturday in the Class 5A, girls soccer regional quarterfinals at Eastwood High Schoo. The match was tied 3-3 after regulation and Andress outscored the Conquistadores 4-3 in a shootout.

In the shootout, Arleth Arroyo stepped up and finished off the match in the seventh attempt for the Eagles.

"I was really nervous, this game was super intense. I had to score the last penalty to win and I always miss my PK's but I'm really happy I made it," Arroyo said.

Andress goalkeeper Annelie Aispuro, who is one of the team's nine seniors, came up big in the shootout phase with four saves. Del Valle scored on its first penalty kick in the shootout, but Aispuro allowed two more after that.

"We knew she could get the job done," said Arroyo of Aispuro.

Added Aispuro: "We've never made it this far, this is amazing. I'm really proud of my team, our seniors have worked really hard for this. You have to have confidence in yourself in this type of situation and we practice the penalty kicks a lot."

Del Valle got a pair of goals from Natalia Garcia and one from Izabella Munoz and Andress countered with two goals from Bella Morgas and one from Mileena Griego leading up to the shootout.

Andress defeated Del Valle on Saturday in the Class 5A, girls soccer regional quarterfinals at Eastwood High Schoo. The match was tied 3-3 after regulation and Andress outscored the Conquistadores 4-3 in a shootout.
Andress defeated Del Valle on Saturday in the Class 5A, girls soccer regional quarterfinals at Eastwood High Schoo. The match was tied 3-3 after regulation and Andress outscored the Conquistadores 4-3 in a shootout.

More: Soccer teams advance San Elizario boys soccer team advances to Region 1-4A Tournament

Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on Twitter

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Andress girls soccer team outlasts Del Valle to reach regional tourney