Gilroy overcomes 2-0 deficit to clinch playoff berth
By Ana PatejdlSpecial to the Dispatch
Sometimes an awakening is all it takes to turn a game around.
When Holly Fudena of Salinas scored in the 51st minute of the game against Gilroy Wednesday night, the Mustangs couldn’t have been lower. Gilroy found itself down 2-0 in its final TCAL game of the regular season.
To make matters worse, the ‘Stangs’ CCS playoff hopes were on hold, pending news out of Hollister about the third-place Haybalers’ match with league leader Live Oak.
Little did the Cowboys know that they were about to be hit with a ferocious Gilroy comeback.
The Mustangs (15-4-3/6-1-3) overcame their sluggish start and scored three goals in four minutes during the second half to escape with a 3-2 win over the Cowboys (5-7-5/3-4-3).
More importantly, Gilroy came away from its last home game of the season with a ticket to the Central Coast Section playoffs for the first time in years.
“It was tough,” said Gilroy head coach Jose Hernandez. “We came out a little flat and out of focus, something we have to fix.
“The second half, we just turned it on. . . We came alive.”
The “coming alive” began in the 59th minute when Nubia de Leon crossed a perfect pass to teammate Stephanie Glenn in front of the Salinas goal. Glenn tapped the ball in the net to cut Salinas’ lead to 2-1.
Three minutes later, Joann Olivo-Pedroza scored from just outside the box to tie the game at two.
One minute later, Alysha Davis was taken down inside the box and awarded a penalty kick. It was up to Gilroy’s leading scorer to give the Mustangs the lead, and Davis did just that, nailing the penalty just under the crossbar and out of the reach of Salinas goalie Ruth Hanks (11 saves).
“Oh! I thought it was going to go over,” said Davis, who celebrated Senior Night along with Margaret Burton and Luz Cortes. “I think I placed the ball a little up, so when I kicked it, it went up but I’m happy it went in.
“I’m feeling very excited, very confident (about the playoffs),” she added. “This team knows how to play together.”
Davis did say the team might have been a little too confident coming into the game with the Cowboys.
“But then we got yelled at at halftime and so …” she recalled with a laugh.
Salinas put the GHS defense on its back foot early. The Cowboys scored their first goal just six minutes in on a ball that got away from Gilroy goalkeeper Sara Hugo (9 saves).
Gilroy had a chance to tie the game at one when Salinas was whistled for a hand ball inside the box. The Mustangs were awarded a penalty kick, but Hanks outguessed penalty kicker Amanda Bruce and made a diving deflection of the sophomore’s attempt.
NOTES: Hernandez said Live Oak sophomore Ivana Saarl is OK and back in school wearing a brace after being airlifted from Mustang Stadium to Stanford Medical Center Friday after injuring her neck in the Gilroy/Live Oak JV game. … Hollister, needing a win to make the Gilroy-Salinas match meaningful, tied Live Oak 1-1 Wednesday night in TCAL play. The ‘Balers can still get an at-large bid if things go its way at the playoff seeding meeting set for Saturday.
