After a 10-day layoff since its last game, the Gilroy High boys soccer team took the pitch Tuesday in the first round of the Golden State Invitational, hosted by Bellarmine College.
The Mustangs took on Watsonville and looked to be rust free after an impressive first half left the two teams tied 1-1. However, it was all Watsonville in the second half as Wildcatz tallied four unanswered goals to grab a 5-1 victory in San Jose.
“We held our own in the first half. We were well connected throughout the first half, but in the second I don’t think we had more than two passes connect,” GHS head coach Armando Padilla said. “We struggled.”
The Mustangs led 1-0 deep into the first half before Watsonville got on the board, capitalizing the Gilroy’s inability to get the ball out of harms way following a corner kick.
“We were unable to clear the ball past the 18,” Padilla said. “Somehow our goalie ended up out of position and the ball trickled in. I think that goal there blew some of the wind out of our sails.”
Jonathan Diaz De Leon popped in Gilroy’s lone goal, his fifth of the season, at the tail end of a well-executed offensive rush. Efren Pineda took the ball wide and found Alejandro Flores in the middle, who gave it right back to Pineda racing up the left sideline. His crossing pass connected with Diaz De Leon for the score.
“That was one of the better sequences of the game,” Padilla said.
The Mustangs continue play at the tournament Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. against Richmond High School at Bellarmine.
“Either way, we will get four quality games this week,” Padilla said. “It will be an eye-opener and a great learning experience for the kids. Even though the games don’t mean much, we still want to show well.”
