Shrinking Gavilan roster is making competing against solid teams
more of a challenge
Gilroy – The Gavilan College women’s soccer team started the season with a roster that consisted of 17 players. A couple of weeks later, that number had shrunk to 10. For Tuesday’s contest against the Chabot Gladiators, the Rams had only eight players suited up.
The Rams (0-9) were hoping that the opposing team’s coach would also play eight, making it a competitive game. But the Chabot staff elected to field a full team of 11 players against Gavilan’s eight, resulting in a 12-0 Gladiator rout over the Rams, giving Chabot (1-9) its first win of the season.
“It was disappointing,” said Gavilan head coach Marty Behler. “I expected (the Chabot coach) to match in us numbers but he didn’t, he played his full team. It’s too bad too because when other teams we play match us in numbers, we’re down there shooting and doing all of the things that look good and that we should be doing as a team.”
Given their three-player disadvantage on Tuesday, there wasn’t much the team could do either offensively or defensively. 15 minutes after the game started, the score was at 3-0. Five minutes later, Chabot’s Chrissy Anyiola carved her way through the short-staffed Gavilan defense on back-to-back breakaway opportunities, making it 5-0.
Gavilan keeper Vanessa Ayala did a good job of turning away a pair of shots that came shortly after Anyiola netted Chabot’s fifth goal of the game. With the Rams’ defense finally starting to deny the Gladiators good position on their end of the field, Gavilan’s Janet Garcia, a Gilroy High grad, was able to make her way down into Chabot’s end of the field.
Garcia battled her way into good position against the Chabot keeper but the energy she spent outmaneuvering a swarm of Gladiator defenders on her way downfield proved to be too much as she didn’t get enough on the shot and the Chabot goalie was able to make the save.
The Gladiators got the ball back and moved it upfield to Jessica Kedding, who made it through the sparse Gavilan defense and put it into the back of the net for a 6-0 Chabot lead.
Kedding got the ball once again moments later after a steal by the Gladiators and looked to be on her way to another goal. But just before Kedding could get off the shot on goal, Gavilan’s Eva Escareno closed the gap and altered the shot just enough, sending it wide right of the goal.
“We just didn’t have enough girls to cover all of their players,” Behler said. “We got caught out of position more than one time because of it. So, based on being outnumbered and everything, I think the girls are doing really well.”
Good news for the Rams though as sweeper Aeriel Wallace, who has missed most of the season with an ankle injury, has been cleared to play in Friday’s road match against San Francisco City College at 4pm.
