Diaz de Leon added to his team-leading scoring stats on two
occasions as the Gilroy High boys varsity soccer team upended
crosstown foe Christopher High 3-0 in a friendly on the pitch
Monday night at GHS.
Forward Jonathan Diaz de Leon can get pretty creative when he is within striking distance of an opponent’s goal.
The junior has a knack for the net and a powerful foot to boot. Yes, pun intended.
Diaz de Leon added to his team-leading scoring stats on two occasions as the Gilroy High boys varsity soccer team upended crosstown foe Christopher High 3-0 in a friendly on the pitch Monday night at GHS.
Despite the win, which lifts the Mustangs to 4-2-2 on the year, head coach Armando Padilla said he felt his team lost a bit of its control and fluidity in getting the victory.
“We lacked a little bit of consistency there,” Padilla said. “We lacked a bit of the soccer aspect in the sense of building, connecting passes and getting into the attacking third. But this was kind of play it big and hope your forward gets the ball. The three goals came off of that and all three were quality finishes. But it didn’t involve much team play. Still happy to get the win, though.”
Both teams have demonstrated the ability to score goals this season. GHS has produced 16 tallies in eight games, while the Cougars’ (2-5-1) feature a pair of strikers, freshman Carlos Jimenez and sophomore Cristian Manzo, who have four and five goals, respectively, in seven tilts.
But is was the Mustangs who capitalized on the open demeanor the game took on and used the pace to finish on the slick and slippery turf.
“In the first half we weren’t doing our best and we weren’t communicating,” Jimenez said. “Things weren’t clicking. We need to control the ball more instead of just sending it up.”
GHS senior captain Kristian Urias deposited his second goal of the season in the 16th minute of the first half, taking a feed in the box and touching a roller off of his left foot into the corner of the net.
The Mustangs grabbed a 2-0 advantage with four minutes to play before intermission as Diaz de Leon recorded the first of his two scores. Jorge Sanchez created a turnover at midfield and sent Diaz de Leon on a run up the right side. Diaz de Leon beat his defender, leaving Cougars’ goalie Robert Salazar between a rock and a hard place – charge and challenge the oncoming Diaz de Leon or sit back and wait. Salazar took a few steps up and Diaz de Leon delivered a volley from 25 yards out. One bounce and the ball found a home in the back of the net.
“We came out flat early and I think that set the tone,” CHS head coach Stephen Casey said. “It translated to the rest of the game and us playing really slow and not connecting passes like we usually do. We gave up a couple goals that we shouldn’t have.”
Diaz de Leon iced things on the chilly evening with a crowd pleasing goal in the 67th minute. Falling to his right, the forward unleashed a rising laser toward the net that skimmed the crossbar as it ducked under just enough for a 3-0 lead.
“The way that we won wasn’t exactly the way we wanted to do it,” Sanchez said. “We want to be able to play our game and touch the ball a little more.”
Though a few weeks out, the beginning of the Tri-County Athletic League is on the horizon and the Mustangs open play with defending league and Division I Central Coast Section champion Alisal on Jan. 13.
CHS also awaits the start of Monterey Bay League action, which gets underway Jan. 5 at Monterey.
