GHS, Overfelt play to 0-0 tie as both goalies have perfect
night
Gilroy – The full team effort? It was there. But the execution? That part was missing in the Gilroy boys soccer team’s matchup with WC Overfelt at Gilroy High Wednesday night.
Despite getting off nine shots on goal to Overfelt’s one – a breakaway in the first half – the Mustangs (3-1-1) and the Royal Knights (3-0-2) ended up in a 0-0 tie after 40 minutes of play.
“We hit the wood too many times,” said Gilroy assistant coach Brian Hall. “Our big issue the whole game was executing and finishing in the penalty area.”
That especially showed in the final minutes of the second half. With time winding down, the ‘Stangs feverishly tried to get last-chance shots on goal. First, a close-range shot from senior forward Jose Pineda bounced off the post.
“(Jose) thought the goalie was coming out so he tried to flick the ball over his head,” said Gilroy head coach Armando Padilla. “But he stayed on the goal line.”
Said Pineda, in his second game back from a knee injury, “After that, it was a matter of (not) having good luck.”
Jairo Rodriguez’s rebound attempt off Pineda’s miss was also wide. A minute later, a play off a free kick from 25 yards out sent the ball cross-field from Gilroy junior Humberto Pineda’s foot to junior Jose Velasquez’s head to sophomore Kevin Grove on the left post. But Grove’s attempt to direct the ball into the goal was deflected. Finally, in the last couple minutes, freshman forward Jason Olivo chased a high-bouncing ball down into the penalty box and attempted to head it in. But Overfelt’s goalie, who had made several nice saves throughout the game, beat Olivo to the ball.
“We had nine really good chances,” Padilla said.
In the first half, besides Overfelt’s early breakaway opportunity, the Mustangs controlled the flow of the game and kept the ball on the Royal Knights’ side of the field for most of the first half. Gilroy’s best shots of the half came in the final two minutes. Junior midfielder Marco Moreno sent a bullet from 25 yards out to the top right corner of the net, but Overfelt’s keeper made a spectacular leaping save. Just before the halftime whistle, Humberto Pineda fired a high shot from the right side of the field. It bounced off the crossbar of the football uprights just above the goal and fell behind the net. From the crowd’s perspective, the ball looked like it bounced into the goal.
“I thought it was going in,” Humberto Pineda said.
Despite the tie, Hall was happy with how the midfield played.
“It was actually a really good game even though there was no score,” Hall said. “A big focus today was center midfield. They really improved their level of communication.”
Added Humberto Pineda, who controlled the midfield for Gilroy, “It’s like a wheel and if the middle is not there, everything will fall apart.”
In the JV match, Gilroy blanked the Royal Knights 4-0.
The Gilroy varsity plays next on Saturday against Berkeley in the third round of the Homestead Cup.
