Gilroy High came out flat in the Homestead Christmas Cup
championship Wednesday, losing 1-0 to Pajaro Valley.
WATSONVILLE
Gilroy High came out flat in the Homestead Christmas Cup championship Wednesday, losing 1-0 to Pajaro Valley.
The Mustangs, who were ranked No. 2 in the area, gave up a goal in the 18th minute against No. 5 Pajaro Valley, a team coach Brian Hall says his team could have beat.
“The big players have to show up in big games, and for the most part our big players were still on break,” Hall said. “They expected Santa was going to slide down the chimney and bring them the first-place trophy rather than them earning it.”
Pajaro Valley, which had several good chances to score off counter attacks in the first half, got on the board on a free kick after being fouled. The Grizzlies kicked the ball into the box. Gilroy was able to head it out, but Pajaro Valley hit a shot from about 20 yards out that sailed into the top left corner of the goal.
“It was one of those things that if that same scenario happened again, it probably wouldn’t go in the goal,” Hall said. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to mark the man and stick to our gameplan like we talked about. But after that, we started marking him better. Except for a few touches, we took away his offensive threat.”
Gilroy goalie Victor Mendoza, who was one of the three Mustangs on the All-Tournament team, kept his team in the game by smothering several tough shots, especially in the first half. Defender Eric Miller was named to the All-tournament team for the second time this year, and Kevin Grove was also selected.
As the Mustangs (8-3-3) got desperate to get something going on offense late in the game, they moved Grove up from sweeper to forward. He had one of only two quality shots on goal for Gilroy.
With about five minutes left, he used his body to spin off his defender. He took a shot from the 18, but it hit the cross bar and bounced toward the goal line and spun out.
“A lot of people thought that it might have gone in,” Hall said. “But it happened so fast, it was tough for the linesman to see it. The ball just beat everyone down to the goal.”
For the Mustangs, it was their second time in five years making it to the Homestead Cup final. Last year, they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Pajaro Valley.
“We felt confident that we could make a show of it after having defeated Watsonville (ranked No. 3),” Hall said. “But the tactics we had worked on weren’t there. They (Pajaro Valley) have three players who make a big difference on their team, and on the high school level that can make a huge difference.”
Gilroy will play in a scrimmage against visiting St. Francis of Mountain View on Friday at 3 p.m. Because the game doesn’t count in the standings, Hall said he plans to work on some different things to try to give the team an offensive spark.
The Mustangs will play in the third annual alumni game on Jan. 2 – a game both sides take seriously.
“Last year, we were in a similar position and it was the catalyst that turned the season around, so who knows if that could happen again,” Hall said.
Girls soccer
Gilroy (3-4-2) is coming off a 6-0 loss against Los Gatos on Saturday. Los Gatos scored three goals in the first and three in the second half.
Ariana Vera led the Mustangs with three shot attempts. Kristi Figueroa had two.
The Mustangs will play in the alumni game on Friday before resuming play in the league opener against Notre Dame on Jan. 11.
The game is scheduled to be played at Cal-State University Monterey Bay.
