GILROY—Christopher had to work to get on the board, but ultimately scored in bunches as it beat Gilroy 18-5 in the final Friday game of the Stinky Rose Tournament.
The Mustangs knew they would have to fight hard to stay in the game against a tough Cougars team. Gilroy’s defense looked like it was up to the challenge as it kept its rival out of the net for the majority of the first period.
“We learned to communicate more and to just act more as a team,” said Gilroy’s Alexandria Pino.
Christopher’s offense finally broke through with 2:40 left in the clock thanks to a strong shot by Malaya Santos.
That’s all it took for the Cougars to open up the Mustangs’ defense as Santos notched two more in the first period and added another pair in the second. She finished the night with five goals against Gilroy.
After fighting to score in the first period, goals came easy the rest of the game for Christopher. The team tallied up five goals in the second period, four in the third and six in the fourth.
“(Speed is) one of our main components for our team. We get down (the pool), pass the bal, and split,” said Cougar sophomore Sierra Ceballos, who led her team with six goals.
Gilroy put up a fight to start the game and after falling 0-2, Mariana Bucio got the Mustangs on the board with 45 seconds left in the period. Unfortunately for Gilroy, it gave up a goal with 22 ticks left on the clock to trail by two at the end of one.
After giving up a quick score to start the second period, Gilroy responded with a score of its own from Ariane Lussier to keep the match within two points. Lussier led the charge for the Mustangs with two goals.
“(I see) a lot of growth now and in the future. They’re going to be a very tough team here in the next couple of years,” said Christopher coach Jim Shuster.
Christopher and Gilroy traded scores for the majority of the period, but Christopher was too strong. The Cougars scored the last three points in the period with less than two minutes to play to take a commanding 8-3 lead to the half.
“Part of the strategy will always be if they have a dominant player or two then you need to focus on them—but they have ten dominant players,” said Gilroy coach Doug Pickford.
Gilroy scored twice in the third period and was blanked in the fourth. Pickford made several substitutions halfway through the fourth period to give his players some rest.
“The defense is getting better. We’re learning to help each other,” Shuster said. “Working as a unit is important.”
The Stinky Rose tournament continues at 9 a.m. Saturday. Harbor and Santa Teresa square off first, followed by Gilroy versus Live Oak at 10 a.m. Stevenson takes on Christopher at 11 a.m. San Benito and Mountain View close out the round-robin portion of the tournament at noon. The final matches begin at 1 p.m. with the seventh-eighth place game.
