Hollister
– Gilroy wrapped up its most grueling week of the season Friday
with a standout performance to rout rival San Benito 4-1.
Hollister – Gilroy wrapped up its most grueling week of the season Friday with a standout performance to rout rival San Benito 4-1.
“We’ve had three difficult, difficult games this week,” Mustangs coach Brian Hall said of Gilroy’s matchups with Alisal, Alvarez and San Benito. “We’re tired, our legs are sore. With three games in five days, to come out with a result like this, it says a lot about their character.”
Gilroy, which has taken over first place in the Tri-County Athletic League with its three wins this week, controlled the flow of the game from the very beginning.
The Mustangs (10-2-4, 5-0-3 TCAL) scored their first goal in the sixth minute off a throw in when Edgar Hernandez headed the ball in off an assist from Humberto Pineda.
Seven minutes later, Gilroy’s offense moved the ball perfectly down the field and Bruce Ocana delivered an excellent cross that Hernandez fielded in the circle and fired into the net for a 2-0 lead.
“We all worked together,” Hernandez said. “We’re listening to the coaches now and doing what they’re saying.”
The Mustangs didn’t let up and had plenty of other chances to score while outshooting the ‘Balers 13-2 in the first half and 20-4 for the game.
“That’s the biggest thing we’ve been working on, trying to put teams away early in the game instead of letting teams stay in the game,” Hall said of the early goals. “For us to get an early goal and then keep the intensity up is big.”
The game stayed at 2-0 until late in the second half, when sophomore Anthony Velazquez got a header on a Pineda pass for his first goal of the year.
Gilroy put the game away five minutes later when Pineda got his third assist of the game on a corner kick that Jose “Tapon” Velasquez headed in.
San Benito finally got on the board in the final minute, when Christian Mercado fired a cross pass and Efrain Espinoza booted it in, but it was much too little and much too late.
“I was expecting us to play like we did against Palma,” San Benito coach Juan Carlos Martinez said of his team, which beat the Chieftains 1-0 on the road Wednesday. “None of my guys put pressure on them. They got all of the balls. It was obvious, (Gilroy) wanted to win.”
