League champions come from behind to tie Live Oak, 2-2
GILROY – The Mustang kickers already clinched their first ever Tri-County Athletic League title and the school’s first league crown since 1984 before even stepping foot on the field to play Tuesday’s home game against Live Oak.
Coach Brian Hall even considered resting some of his ailing starters, but Gilroy’s undefeated record was on the line and the section’s top-ranked team, Watsonville, had lost its first game of the year, leaving the door open for the garlic kickers to take the No. 1 ranking.
And the neighboring rival Acorns were in town, surely looking to upset Gilroy for some added momentum going into the playoffs.
The rematch between the top two teams in league was even more electrifying than the first, a 3-1 Gilroy victory. Live Oak was well on its way to stealing the Mustangs’ thunder, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Hassan Abdullahi in the first half and A. J. Battel in the second half.
But the magic that has carried the comeback-savvy Mustangs all season finally did its trick as Gilroy netted two goals in the final 10 minutes to secure a 2-2 tie and remain unbeaten in league at 8-0-1.
“When they scored two goals, it pumped us up even more and we wanted to come back and tie this game,” junior Alfonso Motagalvan said. “In the locker room, we said we weren’t going to let them take this unbeaten record from us and I think that’s what helped us.
Motagalvan scored on a penalty kick for the game-tying goal with five minutes left, after junior teammate Everardo Diaz de Leon forced a foul inside the penalty box.
“I play with (Live Oak keeper) Nick Rauschnot on my club team and my heart was pounding. My blood went down to my feet. I was like, ‘I’ve got to make it,'” Motagalvan said. “I’ve been practicing PKs for quite a bit during sixth period. I shot well where I’ve been shooting, low and to the left.”
The midfield captain capped off another thrilling Mustang comeback that was ignited by Live Oak’s second goal from Battel, who rocketed a shot from 30 yards out that whizzed under the crossbar.
“That’s part of the character on this team because again we came from two goals down. We’ve seen this many times, another game where we went down and we didn’t give up,” Hall said. “We just kept pushing and pushing and pushing, and through a lot of hard work and just the character of the players on the team, they showed the desire. That’s why they are champions.”
Less than 30 seconds from falling behind by two, Gilroy cut the gap in half when senior striker Jorge Plata finished off a free kick from junior sweeper Artemio Arteaga. Plata is the team’s leading scorer with 12 goals this season.
“In the back of my mind, I had very little doubt. These guys have come back from deficits before. In the last six, seven games, they have come back from a one-goal deficit, but being down 2-0 just shows the heart and the character of this team,” Coach Armando Padilla said. “One thing we leave on the chalkboard in our locker room is effort and heart, and that’s something we want these kids to understand. … I think they showed that today coming back from a two-goal deficit against a Live Oak team.”
The comeback was not complete though, as the Mustangs still trailed 2-1 with the game nearing its end. Then, Diaz de Leon settled a ball in the attack zone and dribbled into the penalty box toward the net before being taken down by Live Oak fullback Nick Mott. Gilroy turned to Motagalvan, who found the back of the net on his penalty kick.
“We knew we were champs already. It didn’t matter because we knew it was still important to us. We haven’t lost at home and we wanted to keep it going,” Motagalvan said. “Watsonville lost 3-0 to Santa Cruz (on Monday), so hopefully that moves up to No. 1 in the standings.”
With the Acorns trying to preserve the lead in the second half, keeping five or six players back on defense, the Mustangs made an offensive adjustment, moving a third striker up to the front line.
“One of our strong points is our speed and our quickness, and I think that’s what got us back into the game,” Hall said. “We would keep the pressure on them just enough to get something and ultimately it was our quickness inside that gets us a penalty kick. I think a well-deserved penalty kick to tie the game for us.”
The Mustangs are 17-0-5 overall this season with only Thursday’s make-up game against Palma at the Salinas Sports Complex at 4 p.m. remaining, while playoff-bound Live Oak ends its season at 13-5-3 overall and 6-1-3 in T-CAL. With Monday’s 3-0 loss to Santa Cruz, top ranked Watsonville is now 18-1-1 overall.
“They have a bunch of big kids over there from their goalie to the defense to the midfield to the forwards. They’ve got an equally matched team if you compare them to Gilroy,” said Padilla of Live Oak. “These games are always high-intensity. There’s no lack of entertaining soccer. Both sides are very, very offensive-minded. It’s never a 1-0 game. It’s electric.”
Sparks were flying all night inside Mustang Stadium, as fans from both sides came out in full force and were treated to a classic battle of the titans. The Gilroy and Live Oak players, some of who play on the same club soccer team under Coach Hall, celebrated with each goal. Following the heated battle, every player offered a good-game hand shake, wished luck in the playoffs, and some even hugged.
“The nice thing about this is it’s a playoff-intensity game so it helps us get ready for the intensity and the physicalness of the playoffs,” Hall said. “It was just a good team effort.”
