Gilroy
– It took Gilroy 30 minutes Wednesday to get its offense
untracked.
Gilroy – It took Gilroy 30 minutes Wednesday to get its offense untracked.
Once it happened, the Mustangs relied on a veteran on Senior Night and a newcomer to defeat Alisal 2-0 and clinch the Tri-County Athletic League title at Garcia-Elder Complex.
It was a game GHS had to win since Salinas’ 3-0 victory over San Benito earlier in the day drew the Cowboys temporarily even with the Mustangs. Salinas was the only TCAL team Gilroy didn’t beat this season. The teams tied twice.
Jose “Tapon” Velasquez, one of the holdovers from the TCAL championship in 2004, scored both goals Wednesday against Alisal. Freshman Forrest Alvarez assisted on each goal.
“The team’s been working towards this,” said Velasquez, who has scored five goals in his last three games. “It took a while before the team starting connecting. We started pushing to make things happen.”
Alisal controlled the tempo of the game during the first 25 minutes. Juan Pacheco got off a hard shot that was just wide left of the goal and the Trojans were constantly on the attack.
Once the Mustangs (13-2-5 overall, 8-0-4) began to control possession, they were able to ramp up their offense.
Four minutes before halftime, Carlos Cortez crossed a pass to Alvarez. The freshman faked a shot and passed to Velasquez, who eased past a defender and beat the keeper for a 1-0 halftime advantage.
Sixteen minutes into the second half, Alvarez headed a corner kick to Velasquez, who lunged for the ball and re-directed a header past the keeper.
After that, several Alisal (9-3-8, 5-2-4) players lost their poise and one was red-carded. And the Mustangs, who enjoyed an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal, were able to celebrate their 11th shutout of the season behind senior Jairo Avalos-Rodriguez and the first TCAL title won by a Gilroy team this school year (the girls soccer team gets its chance today).
“The thing about this team is it got better and better throughout the season,” co-coach Brian Hall said. “We didn’t peak early. When we made changes to our tactical approach, things started to jell. The guys kept pushing each other.”
At about the same time the seniors began clicking, the newcomers began to contribute. Alvarez, who missed the early part of the season with a groin injury, came on strong late in the season.
“It took a while to adapt to the speed of the game but the team was so supportive,” Alvarez said. “I feel good about the way the team is playing. We’re playing with a lot of heart.”
“We’re a family,” Velasquez said. “We had problems early but we worked together and it made us stronger.”
It made them champions.
A seeding meeting Saturday will determine where and when the Mustangs open Central Coast Section playoffs.
