GHS can wrap up its fifth straight league championship with a
win against Salinas on Friday.
Even after scoring a pair of goals, all Breanna Rose could think about after the game was a third tally that was disallowed.
Whether the goal counted or not proved to be a moot point as the Gilroy High girls soccer team put on a clinic in all facets, thumping visiting North Salinas 9-0 on a feel-good Senior Night in Gilroy on Wednesday.
“We were really into it,” Rose said. “A lot of us were in good moods so when we are in good moods, the whole team gets into it.”
Seniors Erin Slattery, Alex Maldonado, Indra Garcia, Mariela Martinez, Katelyn Nebesnick and Rose, received proper due for their years on the team – and then accounted for six of the nine goals. Nebesnick, last year’s Tri-County Athletic League Most Valuable Player who has been inactive all season with an injury, saw her first action of the year, suiting up to play about one minute and 30 seconds.
“The senior class has done a fabulous job of building the team chemistry,” GHS head coach Jose Hernandez said.
The victory is Gilroy’s eighth straight after a 1-1 draw with rival San Benito on Jan. 19. And with the playoffs launching next week, Hernandez said the team’s mental approach at this point of the season is a lot sturdier then in year’s past, which allowed for he and the team to enjoy Wednesday’s relaxed yet focused atmosphere.
“We are trying to enjoy it,” he said. “A lot of times, especially in the last few years, when we get to this point of the season, we are usually very negative and the stress usually catches up with us. So it has been our goal right now to enjoy it.”
And why not? A triumph Friday night against Salinas (14-3-2, 7-3-1 TCAL) gives the Mustangs (13-2-4, 10-0-1 TCAL) their fifth straight league title.
“They want it,” Hernandez said sternly. “We had a few ‘tell us what your inside is telling you’ moments earlier in the season. They have taken ownership of the team. They are playing for each other.”
The Mustangs were on the same page from the get go Wednesday and took the lead a little more than two minutes into the game on Taylor Slattery’s league-leading 19th goal.
Maldonado added a header to make it 2-0 in the 11th minute and less than two minutes later CC Contreras deposited the Mustangs third mark, completing a run down the left side and anchoring a pass from Taylor Slattery.
“We wanted to focus on our basics,” Hernandez said.
The midfield dominance continued as Rose, finished a smooth transition through the middle and notched the first of her two 11 minutes before the half.
“A lot of control and trust that’s for sure,” Rose said of the Mustangs ability to navigate the middle of the field. “We have developed that trust since the beginning of the season and we depend on each other.”
Contreras, Erin Slattery, Garcia, Maldonado and Rose all contributed to the relentless attack in the second half that even the brisk temperature and rain that descended upon Garcia-Elder Sports Complex couldn’t cool.
Game time for Friday’s season finale is slated for 6 p.m. at the PIT.
Central Coast Section playoff seedings will be assigned this weekend.
