Gilroy forward Jose Pineda made sure to make his first game of
the season a good one.
The senior, who returned from a knee injury Saturday in the
Mustang boys soccer team’s Homestead Cup matchup against Monta
Vista, scored Gilroy’s first goal of the game in the a minute
before halftime en route to the 2-0 Gilroy win.
Gilroy – Gilroy forward Jose Pineda made sure to make his first game of the season a good one.
The senior, who returned from a knee injury Saturday in the Mustang boys soccer team’s Homestead Cup matchup against Monta Vista, scored Gilroy’s first goal of the game in the a minute before halftime en route to the 2-0 Gilroy win.
Jose Pineda was assisted by sophomore Jairo Rodriguez, who took a free kick restart pass from Humberto Pineda down to the right side of the goal line. From there he sent a perfect cross to the far post and Jose Pineda headed the ball into the goal past the diving Monta Vista keeper.
“It was great to have Jose Pineda – or ‘Kaka’ as he is called by his teammates – back,” said Gilroy assistant coach Brian Hall. “His presence bolstered our attack and took some pressure off our other forwards.”
Taking advantage of the momentum, freshman Jason Olivo scored Gilroy’s goal a minute later put the ‘Stangs ahead 2-0.
“The mark of a good team is its ability to put their opponent down after they have been injured,” Hall said. “Today, we did this.”
Olivo intercepted a Monta Vista pass about 40 yards out from goal, outran the defense with the ball and capitalized on a one-on-one opportunity with the Monta Vista goalie just before the halftime whistle.
Though Gilroy missed several scoring opportunities in the second half, the Mustang defense stayed tough.
“I am extremely pleased that this was our third shutout in four games,” Hall said. “Our team defense is playing solid and sophomore goalkeeper Randy Moya has made the critical saves when called upon.”
Saturday’s win was Gilroy’s second of the Homestead Cup, pushing the Mustangs to 2-0 in the tournament and 3-1 overall. Gilroy plays next on Wednesday at 6pm against WC Overfelt at home.
GHS Girls Fall to Presentation
The Gilroy girls soccer team dropped its second game of the season Friday at home in a 2-0 decision to Presentation.
“It was a tough game. We played a solid Presentation team and so it was a good measure, a good test,” said Gilroy head coach Jose Hernandez. “They played hard, they made mistakes and were frustrated. But the didn’t crack.”
Presentation scored one goal in each half. Gilroy plays next on Friday at 5:30pm against Scotts Valley at home.
JV Boys Off To Strong Start
Last Tuesday’s win over Seaside capped off a 5-0 start to the Gilroy JV boys soccer season.
In the Mustangs’ first tournament, the Lynbrook Thanksgiving Cup, the team beat Valley Christian 3-0 and Branham 2-1.
Against Valley Christian, the Mustangs got two goals from first-year player Diego Celestino – one off a penalty kick. Armando Velazquez scored the other Gilroy goal. Bruce Ocana contributed an assist on Celestino’s second goal.
In the 2-1 win over Branham, Celestino struck again with one goal, assisted by Ocana. Christian Flores also scored an unassisted goal.
