Jose
”
Tapon
”
Velasquez got offensive-minded Friday.The senior forward scored
two goals and added an assist as Gilroy knocked host Palma from the
ranks of Tri-County Athletic League unbeatens with a 3-0
victory.
Jose “Tapon” Velasquez got offensive-minded Friday.
The senior forward scored two goals and added an assist as Gilroy knocked host Palma from the ranks of Tri-County Athletic League unbeatens with a 3-0 victory.
“I had some bad games,” Velasquez said. “It was time for me to step it up. My teammates were telling me you have to step up for league games. The whole team played a great game.”
GHS co-coach Armando Padilla lauded the team for a second straight strong effort.
“Maybe this was what we needed to turn the corner (in league),” Padilla said. “We got the good win (over Los Gatos) last Saturday and thought it would help us. We finally got the first league win and it came against a ranked opponent.”
The first goal four minutes into the game was set up after Humberto Pineda was tackled trying to get off a pass. Taking a free kick from the 45, Pineda sent a pass to Velasquez. Tapon took it off his chest, trapped and pushed a pass to Edgar Hernandez, who beat the keeper to the right side.
“It was a very well executed play,” Padilla said.
With two minutes left, the Chieftains (8-2 overall, 2-1 TCAL) had a throw-in deep in their end zone. The ball was mis-trapped. Velasquez stole it and beat the keeper 1-on-1 to make it 2-0 at halftime.
The Mustangs (6-2-3, 1-0-2) got an insurance goal in the second half. Bruce Ocana passed the ball into the middle of the field to Pineda who passed the ball to Velasquez and then got it back. Pineda pushed it back to Velasquez, who faked a shot with his left foot and unloaded with his right foot that beat the keeper to the right side.
“After that, we played defense to preserve the shutout,” Padilla said.
Left marking back Noel Vera led a strong defensive effort.
The Mustangs are off until Wednesday when they host TCAL defending champion North Salinas at 6pm at Garcia-Elder Complex.
Alumni Game
The Gilroy girls soccer team braved frigid temperatures for a second straight day and came away with another win.
Twenty-four hours after defeating Notre Dame, the Mustangs came away with a 5-1 win over the GHS alumni. Thirteen alumni attended the game, which began with the varsity pushing across two goals in the first 10 minutes and leading 4-0 at halftime.
The Alumni got some “help” in the second half from the four male varsity coaches but were only able to break even against the varsity girls.
“We all had a blast,” said GHS coach Jose Hernandez.
