Gilroy Gets Revenge Over Salinas With 3-0 Win; One Victory From
CCS Berth
Gilroy – As a way to keep their team focused on getting into the Central Coast Section playoffs, Gilroy boys soccer coaches Armando Padilla and Brian Hall have been repeating one saying: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”
That motivation worked Saturday as the Mustangs lifted themselves to a 2-0 win over North Salinas to keep their playoff hopes alive.
And it worked again Tuesday against Salinas.
Gilroy (9-6-2, 6-3 TCAL) received two goals from junior forward Jose Velasquez in the first half and one from Noel Vera in the second to beat the Cowboys 3-0 Tuesday night on Senior Day. Seniors Jose Pineda, Emmi Nava, Gabe Mendoza and Daniel Vosper were honored before the game.
After losing to league-leader Live Oak Jan. 28, Gilroy absolutely needed wins over Palma, North Salinas and Salinas over the past week just have a chance at second place in the Tri-County Athletic League standings and guarantee a CCS playoff berth. The Mustangs got those victories, despite the no-room-for-error pressure the young team faced. Now, a win over Sobrato Thursday will seal a second-place finish.
“We lost to Live Oak and we could have had that game. So we’re all making this commitment to go out and try to go to CCS,” Velasquez explained. “The team likes the pressure.”
Pressure? The Mustangs alleviated a lot of it early on against Salinas.
Eight minutes into the game, Velasquez scored his first goal. The junior attempted a spectacular bicycle kick for a goal. But his shot deflected off a Salinas defender. The ball bounced back out to the penalty area to Gilroy junior midfielder Humberto Pineda. As Pineda received the ball, Velasquez got up and charged the goal. Pineda sent the ball Velasquez’s way and he scored on a diving header past Salinas goalie Daniel Wheaton.
In the 12th minute of the first half, Gilroy stretched its lead to 2-0. Velasquez scored on another header, this time on a short corner ball from freshman Bruce Ocana. The Mustangs held the 2-0 lead at the break.
“Just his work on the ball, with the ball, was superb,” said Hall of Velasquez, who recently moved from midfield to forward. “The position of forward is kind of new for him, but he’s coming on. He created a lot of chances for us.”
In the second half, Gilroy continued to control the ball and got several shots on goal in the first few minutes. Nearly 11 minutes in, junior midfielder Jesus Diaz chased a ball down just to the right of the goal and sent a pass to the middle of the box. Vera took the pass in stride and fired a shot to the back of the net to give the Mustangs 3-0 lead.
“We just moved the ball so nicely,” said Hall, whose team fell 1-0 to the Cowboys the first time the two teams met. “Last time, (Salinas) played their sweeper very deep. So we worked this week in practice on getting our forwards to stretch the field as much as possible.”
That helped Gilroy keep the ball upfield and get better looks on goal. Limiting physical play was also a key, said Hall. Gilroy received several yellow cards when the Mustangs played in Salinas Jan. 19.
Gilroy will take on Sobrato Thursday at 5:30pm in Morgan Hill.
