Score a goal, hold on for dear life. That was the way things
went for Gilroy High’s boys soccer team in a 1-0 first round
Central Coast Section playoff victory over the Santa Clara Bruins
Wednesday.
Score a goal, hold on for dear life.
That was the way things went for Gilroy High’s boys soccer team in a 1-0 first round Central Coast Section playoff victory over the Santa Clara Bruins Wednesday.
After going ahead in the 10th minute when Eric Miller deposited a penalty kick into the top right corner of the net, the Mustangs found themselves in a unique position. Gilroy couldn’t exactly relax, but players were able to take a deep breath as some pressure was relieved with the score. By the time the Mustangs exhaled, though, a whole new kind of pressure was created to keep the lead. The result was a physical contest that left no ego unbruised.
Better to win ugly than look good and lose.
“It was an ugly game but we pulled it out,” Gilroy co-head coach Brian Hall said. “It was a game with ebbs and tides. We’d go 10 minutes and dominate and then they would go 10 minutes and dominate.”
The Mustangs will now host Overfelt (16-3-1), which beat Watsonville 3-0 in its first-round contest, Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Getting to the second round was no simple task. Referees had to police physical play throughout each half, especially after Gilroy’s goal.
In the second half “their frustration level definitely went up,” Hall said. “After the [penalty kick], the rest of the half we had more control of the ball. They wanted the same kind of call and started to take it out on the referee.”
The call that gave Gilroy its margin of victory came when Bruce Ocana serviced the ball into the box from the left side and Oscar Zuniga was awarded a foul after being pushed in the back mid-air. Miller then calmly stepped up and beat Santa Clara keeper Nathan Levinson on the ensuing penalty kick.
“[Miller] is a great ‘PK’ taker,” Hall said. “He’s real confident on that.”
Santa Clara coach John Azevedo wasn’t so sure it was the right call.
“I think it was questionable, but they got it,” Azevedo said.
The confidence gained from the score by Miller served him and his backline mates, Kevin Grove and Victor Garcia, when the Bruins started sending attackers forward in waves.
“It was hard because they were pushing a lot of people up,” Miller said. “They were putting long balls up (into the box) constantly.”
The Mustangs resisted each advance, however, through a total team effort, with midfielders and forward getting into the mix.
Outside midfielders such as Ocana and Zuniga weren’t afraid to stick their noses into scrums, often helping to stall Santa Clara advances as well as start counter attacks.
“We wanted a second goal and they wanted to tie the game so it was pretty physical,” Zuniga said.
As the Bruins pressed to get that elusive goal, play started to get a bit chippy, and nerves became frayed. Coaches from both teams could be heard screaming from the sidelines for players to get into proper position. No one wanted to be a step out of place.
In the end, Gilroy survived and keeper Alberto Reyes got the shutout.
“They worked their butts off trying (to score) but we couldn’t get in,” Azevedo said.
The Mustangs, who won CCS last season after surviving a 2-1 first-round contest against Mt. Pleasant, now have a small advantage heading into their second-round game with No. 3-seed Overfelt. Gilroy, who was given an 11 seed, will be playing the game at home.
“It’s a huge advantage for us,” GHS co-head coach Armando Padilla said. “It’s the first time since I’ve been involved that Gilroy has a home playoff contest.”
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