Milpitas
– For 30 minutes Tuesday, Gilroy staged a soccer clinic.The
Mustangs controlled the ball, played excellent defense, passed
exceptionally well and they finished.
Milpitas – For 30 minutes Tuesday, Gilroy staged a soccer clinic.
The Mustangs controlled the ball, played excellent defense, passed exceptionally well and they finished.
It may have been reminiscent of the 2003-04 season. And maybe that was appropriate since Gilroy is back in the Central Coast Section finals for the first time since that magical season.
The Mustangs had to topple the No. 1 seed, ousting Lincoln 2-0 in the opening semifinal game at Milpitas High School to stretch their unbeaten streak to 15. Bellarmine Prep earned the other spot in the championship game, edging Watsonville 2-1 in overtime.
Gilroy and the Bells face off at 7pm Friday at Milpitas for the Division 1 title.
“No one thought we would be here,” said GHS senior midfielder Humberto Pineda, one of two holdovers from the 2003-04 squad. “We started the season so bad. We lost to Pajaro Valley and then worked it out. We haven’t lost since. It took us a while to get used to each other.”
Sophomore Bruce Ocana was in the middle of both Gilroy goals. With 14:38 remaining in the first half, he took Noel Vera’s accurate pass from the right side and beat freshman goalie Martin Reyes for his 10th goal. With 2:05 left in the half, he put a pass on Jose “Tapon” Velasquez’s left foot. Velasquez, the other senior who played on the CCS final team, converted his team-leading 15th goal.
“I got an early service like we work on in practice and Noie gave me a good cross,” Ocana said of the goal. “On the other play, I got the ball from the middle, saw ‘Tapon’ running and hit a through ball, and he finished it.”
“Bruce was a our little big man,” GHS co-coach Brian Hall said. “He played above and beyond his size and age. He was dictating the tempo of the game. That (30 minutes of the first half) was the best we’ve played all season. They showed what they could do against the No. 1 seed in the tournament. When they play soccer like that, they bring something special to the game.”
Both teams had good scoring opportunities in the second half but neither was able to cash in.
“We had opportunities, we just couldn’t execute,” said Lincoln coach Josh Sotelho. “The first 10 minutes we were in control but then they dominated us for the rest of the half. They messed us up with how fast they were in the midfield. They’re a very talented team, deserving to go to the next round.”
Velasquez likes the makeup of the team heading into the final game.
“We were a little nervous at the beginning but after a while we put it in our mind that we’re here, they’re No. 1, we’re No. 4 and we have nothing to lose,” Velasquez said. “We started to play our game.”
And finished off the former No. 1 team.
