Gilroy finishes Homestead Christmas Cup pool play with a win and
a draw, while girls soccer stops Overfelt with 1-0 win
GILROY – There’s no point in anyone who is a part of the Gilroy High boys soccer team planning a holiday vacation quite yet.
Winning 4-0 over Soquel on Thursday and coming off a scoreless draw with Monta Vista on Saturday, the Mustangs are still waiting for final word on whether or not they will advance to the Round of 16 in the Homestead Christmas Cup, which runs through the rest of December.
“As of right now, it looks like we’re a sure bet for being in, but crazy things happen,” Gilroy coach Armando Padilla said. “We’re planning for both situations. If we advance, we get to play Saturday.”
The site for such a game has yet to be determined, but it could end up in Gilroy, Padilla added.
In four games of Cup pool play, Gilroy has accumulated a 2-1-1 record and outscored opponents 9-3. The Mustangs lost their first game to Leland 3-0, but they bounced back with a 5-0 victory against San Lorenzo Valley.
The tournament allows the top two squads in each five-team pool to advance. The Mustangs are currently in second place of their pool but might not advance if a wild card team takes their spot. This would occur only if a team does not finish in the top two of its pool but has accumulated more points than the seven Gilroy earned.
The draw against Monta Vista wasn’t exactly what Gilroy was looking for, but the big wins against Soquel and SLV made the tie easier to stomach.
Defender Victor Garcia scored the first goal of the win over Soquel on a corner kick sent into the box by Bruce Ocana. Gilroy added another goal later in the first half when Jorge Sanchez slotted a cross from Daniel Amaro into the net.
Bruce Ocana added two goals of his own in the second half, with Edgar Guerrero assisting on the first and Carlos Cortez delivering the setup on the second.
“We came out with a lot of energy and we were moving the ball better than we did in the first half,” Ocana said.
Sanchez, who was excellent last year as a freshman and hasn’t broken stride in his sophomore campaign with three goals in five games, said he has been using Ocana, a senior, as a role model in his second season. “I’ve just been trying to follow his footsteps and come out with the same energy every game,” Sanchez said.
Using the Cup as a barometer for how the season will go, Ocana believes the Mustangs will have a great chance to succeed later in the schedule if they do indeed advance out of pool play.
“We have a pretty good group and it’s going to get even harder if we go to the next round,” he said. “It will be a good challenge to get us ready for our (league) season.”
The Mustangs, who are now 3-1-1 on the season, will begin Tri-County Athletic League play today at 3:30 p.m. when they hit the road to face North Salinas.
The next scheduled contest for Gilroy, not including Cup play, will be the Dec. 23 Alumni Game, making advancing in the Cup even more important.
“If we lose, we’ll have a long break,” Padilla said. “Essentially, we could play four more games (in the Cup). That’s what helped us last year get ready for league.”
VARSITY GIRLS
Gilroy’s varsity girls soccer team defeated visiting Overfelt 1-0 Monday night.
Ariana Carrillo had the lone goal in the game, taking a cross from Nicole Gonzalez with just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half to slot the shot in for the game-winner.
The Mustangs improve to 2-1-2 on the season with the win. They will face North Salinas on Wednesday to start Tri-County Athletic League action.
“From what I’ve seen, [North Salinas is] rebuilding,” Gilroy coach Jose Hernandez said. “But it’s league and it’s very important to dominate league.”
The game will begin at 5 p.m.
