Diaz de Leon nets game-winner with six ticks left in 2-1 victory
in X-Mas Cup Q’Finals
SAN JOSE – The unbeaten Mustang kickers didn’t care where or when they played their Homestead Christmas Cup semifinal game against Archbishop Mitty, another team with an unblemished record.
Originally scheduled for Saturday at Evergreen Valley College, the quarterfinal contest was switched to Wednesday at Mitty’s home field. Gilroy agreed to play the game early since Mitty plays its league games on Saturdays and even agreed to give the West Catholic Athletic League power home field advantage.
It didn’t matter.
The Mustangs were charged to go where no Gilroy team has ever gone before, scoring the game-winning goal in the final seconds for a 2-1 victory and a berth in the semifinal round of the elite tournament. The garlic kickers will play next on Monday at DeAnza College at either noon or 2 p.m. They don’t know which team they’ll be playing, but the possibilities include Watsonville, the section’s top-ranked team; Leland, ranked No. 3 in CCS; Gunn ranked No. 4 in CCS; or Live Oak ranked No. 11 in the section.
It doesn’t matter.
“We’re the underdog coming in and like (Coach Brian Hall) said, ‘We’re taking on all challengers’ and we’re just destroying them,” said Coach Armando Padilla. “We’re 9-0-2 heading into the semis of this tournament. No one thought little Gilroy would be doing this.”
Gilroy was unranked in the preseason polls. They were not in the CCS Top 10 and they weren’t even in the Top 15 of teams to watch. After an 11-game unbeaten streak to start the season, the Mustangs jumped right into the Top 10 with a No. 7 ranking in the section.
With Thursday’s game knotted at 1-1 and time ticking away, Gilroy and Mitty (3-1-4) were headed for a penalty kick shootout. If a tournament game is tied, the teams skip overtime or sudden death and go right to kicks.
It didn’t matter, either.
Sophomore stopper Artemio Arteaga played the ball up to junior captain Alfonso Motagalvan – who dribbled into the Mitty half before sending a through ball to junior teammate Everardo Diaz de Leon. The deadly striker outhustled a Mitty defender to the fifty-fifty ball, dribbled with speed not to be caught from behind, and slipped a shot right by the goalkeeper.
“It nipped the goalie on the hand or the foot, but it still went. It slowed the momentum down, but the ball just rolled into the goal,” said Padilla. “We on the sidelines just went nuts.”
After dominating play in the first half, the Mustangs had only a one goal to show for it, clinging to a slim 1-0 advantage. The scoring play developed as senior Javier Hernandez blazed down the sideline to the ball and sent a cross into the middle of the field. Motagalvan settled the ball and rocketed it into the corner of the net.
“It was a beautiful goal,” said Padilla, whose Mustangs converted on one of 11 first-half shots. “We had so much possession. They didn’t know what we were going to do with the ball. They were like 10 guys with their heads chopped off going in circles. … We were playing beautiful soccer for the first 40 minutes of the game.”
But instead of maintaining the momentum in the second half, the Mustangs went on the defensive with Mitty working some opportunities. With 15 minutes left, Mitty’s hard work paid off, tying the score at 1-1.
“They were on their heals. Mitty brought it to us. They punished us. We came out very flat-footed and they caught us off-guard,” said Padilla. “It was a complete momentum shift. We were on their home field with 50 to 60 fans on their sideline. When they scored their goal, you could feel the energy they were building up.”
Gilroy, however, weathered the storm, keeping Mitty from taking the lead, and eventually netted the game-winner with six seconds remaining.
Highlights from the Homestead Christmas Cup, including Gilroy’s win over Mitty, will be televised on High School Sports Focus on KICU Channel 36 on Friday at 11 p.m. and again on Sunday at 4 p.m.
