GILROY – With the tight 20-game schedule restrictions placed on
soccer teams in the Central Coast Section, the annual Homestead
Christmas Cup, which usually allots four games to teams who advance
up to the semifinals, had to be reformatted, resulting in an
unconventional formula to decide which teams plays in the
finals.
GILROY – With the tight 20-game schedule restrictions placed on soccer teams in the Central Coast Section, the annual Homestead Christmas Cup, which usually allots five games to teams who advance up to the semifinals, had to be reformatted, resulting in an unconventional formula to decide which teams play in the finals.
The four teams that topped their respective brackets, Gilroy High, Homestead, Alisal and Woodside, faced each other in a penalty-kick shootout for the right to play in the championship game Tuesday in Gilroy.
The penalty kick portion of the afternoon pitted Gilroy against Woodside. The Wildcats defeated the Mustangs, sending head coach Armando Padilla’s squad to the consolation game against Alisal.
From the get go, it looked as though the Mustangs were a bit sluggish after the disappointment of missing out on a chance at the title.
Gilroy had played for the Cup championship the previous two seasons, coming up on the losing end in each.
A physical first half went in favor of the Trojans, who jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Enrique Montero in the 32nd minute.
“I think our guys, after those penalty kicks, didn’t seem like they wanted to be here and play,” Padilla said. “It’s tough when you lose and now you have to play in the third-place game.”
After Gerardo Vera put the Trojans ahead 2-0 less than two minutes into the second half, the Mustangs exhibited a different energy and began to thread together some consistent scoring attacks.
“We were able to get more corner kicks because we were pressing,” Padilla said. “If we convert on two of those, and we definitely could have, the score would have been 2-2.”
Following a foul, senior Josh Gonzalez took the indirect kick which connected with Jonathon Diaz De Leon whose header was snagged by the Trojans goalie Christopher Cruz.
Moments later Gonzalez again set up the Mustangs with another nicely placed indirect kick, but Cruz was there to foil the effort.
“We have been talking about having energy out on the field and I think that was the difference in that second half,’ Padilla said. “We came out with a little more hunger and more urgency to play.”
The chances kept coming for the Mustangs but none translated into goals.
“I feel like we could’ve started a little bit better,” forward Jorge Sanchez said. “I think it would have been a different game if we played like we did in the second half from the beginning.”
Sanchez, along with David Orosco, earned spots on the all-tournament team.
“I think it is something we can learn from,” Sanchez said. “Even though we aren’t playing for a championship, we still have to play at 110 percent.”
Despite the loss, the Mustangs got a good early look at one of their Tri County Athletic League opponents in Alisal, who they will play twice as the season moves along.
“It’s a good thing because it gave us a chance to get a feel for them,” Padilla said. “I’m pretty confident that when we match up with them in league it will be a better battle than it was today.”
The Mustangs tied Lincoln 1-1 in the first round of the Christmas Cup. They defeated Palo Alto 3-1 in the second round and most recently had knocked off Santa Clara 2-0 on Saturday.
–The Mustangs will play their alumni game tonight at 6 p.m. at Garcia-Elder Sports Complex
