BAYTOWN — Forget the records. Port Arthur Memorial gave once-beaten Galena Park a serious run in its own playoff push.

A first-overtime header from close range was what the Yellowjackets needed Tuesday night to stave off the upstart Titans 2-1 in the area round of the UIL 5A boys soccer area round.

The defeat ended Memorial’s season at 10-8-1, one that saw the Titans earn its first-ever playoff victory and come painstakingly close to another under first-year coach Chris Bradford.

“It’s not all about soccer,” he said. “We’ve had victories. We didn’t pull out the win tonight but we’ve had numerous victories all season, and the boys have grown all season. That’s what brings me pleasure.”

Galena Park, meanwhile, improved to 25-1 on the season and will play Houston Wisdom, a 4-1 winner over Caney Creek later Tuesday. But the Yellowjackets were on their heels just 4 minutes, 4 seconds into the match when Cristian Lua rebounded a side-out kick and gave the Titans the early lead.

“Us scoring an early goal is not necessarily what we’re used to,” Bradford said. “I thought it was a positive start. I thought it was a good and equal game.”

So started the chess match between Bradford and Galena Park coach Chad Monk, a Groves native who played soccer with Bradford on the youth and college club levels. Both attended Lamar.

The Titans controlled possession the first half and contained the Yellowjackets’ fast-break attack, a plan Galena Park managed to flip-flop in the second half. Memorial’s Luis Rodriguez (12 saves) and GP’s Oscar Perez (eight saves) stayed busy all night keeping their teams in the game.

Galena Park finally struck with 2:38 left in the first half when Jorge Abarca connected on a 30-yard shot. Rodriguez made two crucial saves in the final 73 seconds of regulation to force two 10-minute extra periods.

Guilibardo Villareal crossed a header to Abarca, who knocked a shot in the upper right-hand corner of the goal with 5:12 left in the first overtime. An insurance goal off a rebound with 4:56 left in the second OT was negated by an offsides penalty.

“It’s all from the players,” GP assistant coach Alejandra Cruz said. “It’s all from the extra motivation of wanting it more. As coaches, we did our job of getting them here. It was their job of finishing it.”

I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews