In a matter of minutes, Gilroy’s varsity soccer team experienced
some of the best and worst emotions that come with sports.
In a matter of minutes, Gilroy’s varsity soccer team experienced some of the best and worst emotions that come with sports.
Trailing the Alisal Trojans 1-0 in stoppage time Tuesday night, the Mustangs were frustrated with their inability to finish and frantic in their efforts to tie. An Alisal defense and rain-soaked field had stymied Gilroy for 80-plus minutes.
The dread of defeat quickly turned to joy, however, when Bruce Ocana one-timed a perfect cross from Kevin Grove, evening the match and giving the home team its first opportunity to feel some relief. The elation of the equalizer was short lived, though, as the Mustangs were denied a second goal, and precious points that would have come with a win.
The final result was a 1-1 draw.
Gilroy entered the match with a 3-0-2 record in the Tri-County Athletic League standings while Alisal had won all five of its contests. The Mustangs (10-3-5 overall) now trail the Trojans (8-1-3) by four points in the TCAL and will need Alisal to lose in order to gain ground.
“The tie is all right, but we were looking for a victory,” Ocana said. “Now we’re a little further away (from a league title).”
Had Ocana not netted a goal, the Mustangs would have virtually no shot at a league title.
With just minutes remaining and realizing he needed to get more out of his front line, GHS co-head coach Brian Hall moved Grove, Ocana and Jose Armando Hernandez up as forwards. The tactic was identical to the one used against Salinas last week, a 2-2 draw in which Gilroy scored late to tie.
With the clock stopped and the referee looking at his watch, it seemed like the Mustangs had missed their chance. But Grove’s tenacity, evident in each minute of the match, was never more apparent than how he achieved his assist.
Muscling a defender aside to gain possession on the right sideline, Grove pushed the ball towards the corner before serving a beautiful arching cross into the box. The target was Gilroy forward Carloz Cortez, who happened to be marked. As Cortez collided with an Alisal defender, the ball flew just high of his head.
A fortunate miss for Gilroy considering Ocana was following a step behind.
Ocana leaped into the air and one-timed a shot with his left foot, finding the back of the net.
The point wasn’t a surprise to Gilroy’s coach.
“I told him before the game, today is your day to get back into the scoring column,” Hall said.
Ocana confirmed as much.
“Brian told me I would score before the game and I didn’t want to let him down,” he said.
The Trojans scored their goal in the fifth minute of the second half, putting together a beautiful string of passes before Dagberto Jimenez streaked into the box and one-timed a shot into the left side of the net. Four different players touched the ball less than three times each to create the open shot.
“We work on passing the ball like that,” Alisal coach Jesus Sanchez said. “We did it a couple times (in the game), but they put on good pressure.
“We wanted to push for a second goal (after the Mustangs scored), but coming into Gilroy, a tie is good.”
Gilroy’s coaches also walked away with mixed reviews of the performance. But considering the manner in which it was achieved, Hall said no one could be faulted.
“We got comeback kids two games in a row,” Hall said. “That’s why my hair is thinning on the top of my head.
“A lot of the credit goes to the kids. They never stopped, never quit.”
View more photos of GHS vs Alisal Boys Soccer at our
