Mustangs come up short against Los Gatos, fall 2-0
Gilroy – Jose Hernandez is still waiting for the Gilroy girls to be able to beat an A Division team.
It hasn’t happened in the four years he’s been the Mustangs’ coach. And yet the gap seems to be closing,
Take Wednesday, for example. GHS had two excellent scoring opportunities in the first half, and Amanda Bruce drew the Los Gatos goalie out in the second half on a crossing pass to Sara Hugo.
And yet the Mustangs weren’t able to find the net. On the other hand, the Wildcats were able to convert when they had opportunities. Los Gatos also effectively neutralized Bruce in a 2-0 win at Garcia-Elder Complex.
“We knew they could play through the middle, so we came out with a different formation, a 3-5-2,” said Wildcats’ coach Jan Eric Nordmo. “We stuffed the middle. We didn’t consciously mark (Bruce). But the girls recognized what she is able to do.”
Sofie Lynn scored in the first half on a well-placed 15-yard shot with an assist from Samantha Mason, and Jessica Fee found the net assisted by Rachelle Comeau with 14 minutes left in the game.
With 11 minutes left, Bruce showed why opponents have to be aware of her at all times. She brought the ball down the middle, drew a crowd and rifled a pass to Hugo on the right side. It got there a split second too late as the goalie beat Hugo to the ball.
In the first half, GHS freshman Ariana Carrillo had two good scoring opportunities. Carrillo, in her first varsity game after recovering from a broken foot suffered in club soccer, got her head on a ball 15 minutes before halftime. Her shot was just wide right. Five minutes later, she got a good look from 10 yards out. Her hard shot was at the goalie.
“We have to think a little quicker,” Bruce said, assessing why the team has been unable to find the net against A teams. “We need to hold onto the ball a little more and slow down to let (the forwards) get ahead and then make the passes when we have them. We could work together better.”
Bruce is constantly getting extra attention, which means others should be open. And yet the timing of the other GHS offensive players isn’t sharp yet.
“We’re looking to improve our communication,” Hernandez said. “We’re a little behind on that. We’re getting better but we’re not where we need to be. We’re getting close to these A League teams but we’re not quite there yet.”
Meanwhile, Los Gatos (4-6), a Central Coast Section qualifier the last four seasons and finalist in 2005, is still trying to find itself. Injuries forced Nordmo to use 23 different girls in the early going, and there were some problems developing chemistry. Now, he feels things are coming together.
And Hernandez would like the Mustangs (3-4-1) to take advantage when opportunities present themselves.
“We’re not able to finish,” he said. “We’re getting better and we’re doing better against the A teams. After all, we lost our first two games 5-0.”
