Gilroy
– The last time the Gilroy boys’ soccer team hosted a playoff
game, the Mustangs went to the Central Coast Section finals.
Gilroy – The last time the Gilroy boys’ soccer team hosted a playoff game, the Mustangs went to the Central Coast Section finals.
That same season, 2003-04, the Gilroy girls suffered through a winless Tri-County Athletic League campaign.
This year, the Mustang boys and girls were TCAL champions, although the girls had to share their title with San Benito. And both Gilroy teams earned home games in the CCS playoffs that begin Wednesday.
The boys drew the No. 4 seed and will be home for a 7pm tilt against No. 13 Mt. Pleasant. The opener of the doubleheader finds the No. 10 Mustang girls hosting No. 7 Homestead at 5pm.
Sixteen teams comprise the boys field whereas there are 12 teams in the girls tournament. Thus, the top four seeds among the girls get byes. The Gilroy-Homestead winner is at No. 2 Santa Teresa on Saturday.
Both Gilroy teams enter the tournament with a full head of steam, going 5-0-1 during the second half of the TCAL season.
The Mustang boys enter on a 12-game unbeaten streak (9-0-3), having not lost a game in 2007. And yet co-coaches Armando Padilla and Brian Hall are treating the game against Mt. Pleasant as a tossup. After all, it’s sudden death for the loser.
“Being in this type of league prepares us for a game like this,” said Padilla, referring to the Latin-style favored by the Cardinals. “They do a lot of give-and-gos, stuff we’ve faced against Alisal and Alvarez. They play more our style of game.”
While Gilroy is led offensively by Jose “Tapon” Velasquez’s 12 goals and Humberto Pineda’s 10 assists, the Mustangs have five players with at least three goals and five players with at least three assists.
“The good thing about this team is that we don’t really have two or three standouts,” Hall said. “Everyone contributes. Look at the number of people we’ve had score and the number of players who have had assists. You’re only as good as your weakest link.”
During the 12-game unbeaten streak, Gilroy has outscored its opponents 28-6. The Mustangs (13-2-5) have given up just 11 goals all season, and never more than two in a game. Mount Pleasant (13-3-4) has a similar record.
“It should be a pretty good matchup,” Padilla said. “I like the way we’ve come together as a team. The guys are working hard and supporting each other. The important thing is to stay hungry and focused.”
In Homestead, the Gilroy girls face a fourth-place finisher in the De Anza League. However, Homestead is an A league team while GHS is one of four B league teams in the playoffs.
“They play more of a European-style and are well conditioned,” GHS coach Jose Hernandez said. “They are a fast team. We’ll need to go with our strengths — short passing and ball control. They will test our conditioning.”
Hernandez expects a low-scoring game. After all, Homestead (8-4-6) scored 31 goals all season and allowed 18. That means Gilroy will have to cash in on offensive opportunities when they present themselves. It also means that center defenders Irene Figueroa and Cheyenne Strametz are key players.
“We’ve got to put away scoring chances when we get them,” Hernandez said. “Finishing will be vital.”
If there is one thing Hernandez won’t have to worry about it is attitude. Instead of celebrating last Thursday’s 4-0 win over Alisal that locked up a tie for the TCAL title, the GHS girls were down on themselves for not scoring more goals.
“They felt they didn’t play sharp enough,” Hernandez said, “because of missed opportunities.”
And yet, Gilroy is playing its best soccer of the season posting shutouts in five of its last six games.
