The Gilroy boys soccer team closed out the non-league season with a 2-1 win over North Monterey County.
The Mustangs took control of the first half, denying the Condors many forays into the Gilroy zone.
NMC got one clean shot on goal in the half, while Gilroy dominated time of possession.
Coach Armando Padilla said he was happy with the control of the first half, but said his boys still have some improvement.
“I thought some things could have been better, but they’re still a young group trying to gel together still,” Padilla said.
He said the boys did a great job starting to move the ball around between positions and utilizing each other to get the ball up field. But he said the Mustangs still have some work to do as they enter league play.
However, on Tuesday, things worked out pretty well.
That attack paid off in the 24th minute when Carlos Guerrero sent a corner kick into the weak corner where Simon Vasquez was standing to redirect the kick for a 1-0 lead.
“We work a lot on getting bodies into the 18 and challenging,” Padilla said. “We did a good job of challenging. The ball was up 50-50 and Simon did a good job of getting his body in there and poking it in.”
Gilroy hung on despite a breakaway in the 32nd minute threatened to knot the game going into the half.
But as the fast break came to an end, the shot sailed over the net, allowing Gilroy to remain ahead at the break.
At the start of the second half, Gilroy came out swinging just like in the first.
Ellias Diaz won a steal from 30 yards out, broke through the defense and got one-on-one with the keeper. His shot left NMC’s netminder no chance and gave Gilroy a 2-0 lead in the 42nd minute.
“He’s been on a hot streak of scoring goals lately,” Padilla said. “It gives us a lot of confidence knowing we can play him anywhere and he’s going to step up to the challenge and score some goals for us.”
That’s where the game stood for the next 24 minutes but little by little, the Condors began pushing further into Gilroy territory.
It finally paid off with a sharp angled shot that found the far corner to cut the lead in half at the 68th minute.
North Monterey County then kept the pressure on for the next five minutes until the Condors were awarded a free kick just out of the penalty box.
NMC put on a play, opting to pass near the end line and try for a cross in front of the net. Gilroy, however, rallied to keep the ball out of the net despite three or four shots.
Gilroy finally got a clear and the Condors never really got a clean look until well into stoppage time when a corner kick nearly fell in, but a redirect hit the post.
Gilroy will now gear up for Pacific Division play, kicking things off with Christopher 6:45 p.m. Jan. 5 at Gilroy.
“These guys are pretty passionate,” Padilla said. “They really want to win. They don’t want to lose against their rivals. It should be good.”
