Gilroy
– After defeating visiting Salinas 2-0 Tuesday, Gilroy will be
rooting for the Cowboys when they host San Benito on Thursday.
Gilroy – After defeating visiting Salinas 2-0 Tuesday, Gilroy will be rooting for the Cowboys when they host San Benito on Thursday.
With one game left on the regular season schedule, Gilroy (9-5-5, 6-1-4 TCAL) hopes San Benito (12-5-2, 7-3-1 TCAL) loses and then will try to beat Alisal on the road Thursday (wins are worth three points, ties one).
If both teams win they would be declared co-league champions. Gilroy would probably have the better seed going into the Central Coast Section playoffs because of the head-to-head record.
The teams tied the first meeting at 2-2 in Hollister before Gilroy won 3-0 at home in the second. San Benito defeated Alisal 4-3 Tuesday with a goal in the final minutes.
“We wanted to play hard in this game, but we didn’t want it to be our last home game,” said senior Amanda Bruce. “We want to go to CCS.”
The Mustangs used two first-half goals Tuesday against the Cowboys (9-9-3, 4-4-3 TCAL) to notch the win.
“Our ball movement was really helping us,” said Gilroy coach Jose Hernandez. “We kept up the tempo.”
Ariana Carrillo got the Mustangs on the board 15 minutes in on a cross from Sara Hugo in front of the goal.
Kristi Figueroa scored the second goal about 15 minutes later. Figueroa put the ball in after a corner kick bounced around in the middle between players.
The two goals set the pace. Salinas came out firing in the second half, getting a shot off on goal right away. The Cowboys dominated the second half with good ball movement to create numerous shots.
“We didn’t change anything in the second,” Hernandez said. “We were trying to work on things that weren’t working in the first. Salinas is a good team and kept the pressure on.”
The Mustangs had their best chance to score in the second when Hugo made a run down the left side on a cross from the middle. After a defender was able to chase her down, she had a shot on goal shortly thereafter.
“We had a good team effort,” said sophomore Irene Figueroa. “We were passing good, and we had a good supporting effort at midfield.”
