The scouting report for the Gilroy girls’ soccer team in its
showdown with North Salinas for first place in the Tri-County
Athletic League was simple.
The scouting report for the Gilroy girls’ soccer team in its showdown with North Salinas for first place in the Tri-County Athletic League was simple.
Stop Tannia Hernandez and you stop the Vikings. The Mustangs, led by sophomore Cheyenne Strametz, were on task for probably 76 of the 80 minutes Tuesday.
Because Hernandez was able to shake loose for two goals, North Salinas was able to shake free of Gilroy in a Tri-County Athletic League encounter in a 3-1 win that means there are no more TCAL unbeatens.
“It’s completely wide open,” GHS coach Jose Hernandez said after the disappointing defeat in which the Mustangs had a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal.
“We got really frustrated,” said senior outside Nubia Diaz de Leon. “Once we scored, we didn’t put as much effort into the game as we should have. We had opportunities in the box. We took shots that were nowhere near the goal.”
Hernandez, meanwhile, made her shots count. The senior forward, who entered the game with four more goals than the rest of her teammates combined, scored what proved to be the game-winner in the first half for a 2-0 lead.
Gilroy sophomore forward Ariane Vera scored her fifth goal of the season 10 minutes into the second half, but the Mustangs (2-1-1, 5-5-2) were unable to capitalize on the momentum.
Hernandez scored her 24th goal of the season late in the second half as the Vikings boosted their record to 8-3-1, 4-1. It was a bounce-back game for the defending TCAL champions, who were upended by San Benito 3-1 last week.
“We felt we were ready for the game, but we didn’t play very well,” Diaz de Leon said.
Hernandez was disappointed because he felt GHS controlled the tempo but wasn’t physical enough as the game entered its later stages.
“It’s back to the drawing board,” Hernandez said. “We will work on that one. We did enough to be in the game. We had shots and opportunities that weren’t falling. We missed four or five open goals.”
Because Hernandez did not miss her shots, North Salinas was able to move back on top of the TCAL standings.
