The Gavilan College men’s soccer team looked fresh, looked spry, and judging by the first 20 minutes of Friday’s Coast Conference opener against Cabrillo College Friday, looked destined for victory.
An early goal from Josh Gonzalez sparked a flurry of scoring chances for the Rams. But Cabrillo kept it a one score game, evened the contest late in the first half and Gavilan settled for a 1-1 draw on the pitch in Gilroy – a result that didn’t exactly sit well with the Rams or head coach Justin Johnson.
“We feel disappointed,” forward Fabian Ruiz said. “We felt like we should have won.”
Ruiz set up Gonzalez on a clean give-and-go sequence at the top of the box. Gonzalez took the heeled delivery from Ruiz and booted ball far post for a 1-0 Gavilan lead.
“I checked into him. He passed it to me, I saw him run and I got him the ball,” Ruiz said of attack.
Other chances in the first half by Gonzalez and Ruiz were voided by Cabrillo (0-2-3) as the Seahawks dictated the flow.
“We had a game plan, we came out strong but we had a let down,” defenseman Miles Mammen said. “Once we started playing their game, we had a tough time getting out of it.”
And that is what Johnson found most difficult to swallow.
“It isn’t the tie – everybody has their bad days,” Johnson said. “It was that we had a game plan and we didn’t execute it.”
Cabrillo’s goal came from distance – about 35-yards out – in the 41st minute. It did more than just equalize the score, too. The Rams (4-3-1) soon found themselves in chase mode, and their offensive structure in the midfield into the forward third suffered because of it.
“We spent a lot of hours preparing for this game. We started strong and everything was looking good. It’s really that execution,” Johnson said. “But this is a good reminder. We didn’t lose, and it’s early on in the season.”
Both sides flirted with breaking the deadlock in the second half. Gavilan’s Pedro Ulloa just missed in the 55th minute, striking a nice ball that went just high over the crossbar far side. Ten minutes later, another Ulloa effort went high.
Rams goalie Eric Saavedra made three key stops in the second half and totaled six saves in the game.
His save on a two-on-one break following a turnover in the midfield in the 75th minute prevented Cabrillo’s best attempt at the deciding goal.
“It’s definitely something to build on,” Johnson said. “We are still moving in the right direction. This is only a minor setback. I don’t believe this will be a recurring issue this year.”
Gavilan is back on its home pitch Tuesday against Evergreen College in another conference get together.
“Our goal is to never lose at home, which is still in tact,” Mammen said. “I think if keep our head up and have a couple good practices, we will be ready for Evergreen on Tuesday.
Game time is slated for 4 p.m.
