Looking to stop a two-game, scoreless losing streak, the Gilroy High girls varsity soccer team continued a challenging slate of nonleague tilts against Monta Vista-Cupertino.Â
The Mustangs faced one-goal deficits on two occasions but broke out of their brief offensive slump with a tally in each half and salvaged a 2-2 tie with the Matadors on Wednesday night in Gilroy.
“It’s nice to get two goals in. I liked our hustle, but we still need to wake up on staying focused,” GHS head coach Jose Hernandez said. “It’s the ups and downs of a young team. Our communication isn’t quite there yet.”
Moments after starting goalie Alejandra Aceves had to leave the game with a tweaked knee, the Matadors went ahead 1-0 in the 26th minute, receiving a goal from Casey Kute at the tail end of a sequence that began with a free kick.
Less than one minute later, the Mustangs countered off the restart and Jahkya Turiello sent Cynthia Sanchez into the box one-on-one with the Monta Vista goalie. Sanchez deposited her fourth goal of the season, beating the keeper far post.
“This team seems to be responding to the pressure,” Hernandez said. “I wish we didn’t need that pressure to respond.”
Hadar Sachs helped Monta Vista regain the advantage eight minutes into the second half. But two minutes later, Gilroy’s Taylor Slattery delivered a deep pass to the feet of Sanchez, who drew a foul inside the box and earned a penalty kick. Turiello, a sophomore, playing her first game of the season, was asked to take the shot and she converted the equalizer.
“It was nice to have Jahkya come in and have a little more sense of being complete,” Hernandez said. “We are working. In our first few games we couldn’t really pass the ball, but today it was better.”
The Mustangs (1-2-1) hit the road to face the defending Monterey Bay League champion Watsonville Wildcatz on Friday in a nonleague match. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
The Christopher High varsity boys soccer team received a second-half goal from Angel Trejo, but it wasn’t enough in a 3-1 loss to Valley Christian on Wednesday in San Jose.
“We are still trying to work on producing two forwards that work together up top,” CHS head coach Ricardo Espinosa said, adding that he felt his Cougars played a much better second half in keeping possession.
The Cougars (1-1-3) trailed 2-0 after the first half and cut the lead to one with Trejo’s goal before surrendering the third tally on a counter attack.
CHS will play in the second round of the Homestead Christmas Cup on Saturday versus Lincoln. That game will be played at Homestead High at 3:15 p.m. The Cougars tied Gunn 1-1 in the first round.
GIRLS SOCCER
Host Sobrato High shut out Christopher 3-0 in nonleague girls soccer Wednesday in Morgan Hill.
The Bulldogs expanded a 1-0 first half lead into the three-goal difference. CHS (1-2) host San Lorenzo Valley on Friday. Start time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Despite a team-high 23 points from Andrew Foster and a near-flawless team performance from the free-throw line, the Christopher High boys varsity basketball team let a nine-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter in a 66-63 loss to host Los Gatos in the first round of the Wildcat Shootout on Tuesday night.
“That was by far the best game we have played since I started with these kids three years ago,” CHS head coach Kaden Bahner said. “It was an unfortunate loss, but I like the way we are playing basketball.”
Wyatt Rocheleau contributed 15 points, including 7-of-7 from the line, and DJ Campos and Evan Shapiro each had six points for the Cougars.
Trailing 17-12 after the first quarter, the Cougars outscored Los Gatos 20-6 in the second period to stake out to a nine-point advantage at intermission, 49-40.
The two teams played equal in the third, but the Wildcats pulled away in the fourth to erase the deficit. CHS led 63-61 with 19 seconds lift. LG scored five points in that span to steal the win.
The Cougars continue action at the tournament tonight at 5 p.m. against Woodside.
