Mustangs miss three straight penalty kicks, fall to Watsonville
in X-Mas Cup Finals
CUPERTINO – The very thing that catapulted the Mustang kickers into Tuesday’s Homestead X-Mas Cup Finals against Watsonville also was their demise, ending a 12-game unbeaten streak that had moved them up to a No. 2 ranking in the section.
That thing was penalty kicks, which the tournament game goes to immediately if there is a tie at the end of regulation.
Mustang coaches Armando Padilla and Brian Hall went with the same five-player line-up that they used to win Monday’s semifinal contest over two-time defending champion Leland. But that also meant sophomore Jamie Binowski, who scored the clinching kick as the eighth shooter, was not in the opening five.
Sophomore Ben Alcantar, who missed his attempt against Leland for the first time in his blossoming career, junior Jorge Plata, whose fake-one-way-go-the-other style worked the first time, and junior Everardo Diaz de Leon, who made his re-do penalty kick in the semifinal, all did not cash.
Even though sophomore keeper Brian Velasquez made another diving save on Watsonville’s opening kick like he did twice against Leland, the Mustangs could not capitalize. Watsonville, the top-ranked team in CCS, scored its next two penalty kicks to earn the X-Mas Cup Trophy after only three shots. The Mustangs settled for second best in the 28-team field of elite squads, which is the largest high school tournament in Northern California.
“We played our hearts out, but we couldn’t put it in the net. That’s how soccer is. You win, you lose, you keep it up,” said junior tri-captain Artemio Arteaga, the anchor of the Mustang defense. “This is a wake-up call right here. We have to suck it up, practice hard. We have to get the early goals and, hopefully, we’ll go to CCS.”
Arteaga was one of three Mustangs to earn all-tournament honors as well as midfield captain Motagalvan and front-line captain Diaz de Leon, highlighting the garlic kickers’ impressive run into the Cup Finals.
“Just getting into the quarterfinals was something that we didn’t do last year and after getting a big win over Mitty and advancing to the semis, that was our goal to get to the semifinals and to get into the finals we’re kinda overachievers,” Padilla said. “But to come here and to not bring our ‘A’ game pretty much was a disappointment. But hey, it ended up in a tie and unfortunately in PKs, it’s a guessing game.”
Although the Mustangs technically lost to Watsonville, it does not count as a loss to their record, according to Hall. Since the game went directly to penalty kicks in a tournament, the victor adds a win, but the loser registers the tie. So Gilroy is officially 10-0-3.
“It was two good teams battling each other, one versus two (in CCS). Either team could have come away with the win,” Hall said. “We’re a team trying to build tradition and they’re the team already with the tradition so this is just one more step for us to build a little bit for the future.”
The Mustangs played electrifying soccer throughout the tournament, notching big-time victories over Archbishop Mitty and Leland in the single-elimination rounds that followed opening pool play.
“There were a lot of good teams. I think we did pretty good. Nobody expected us to be here right now,” Arteaga said. “We beat one of the toughest teams, Leland. That’s all we wanted to do and then go to the finals, win or lose, just keep it up.”
Watsonville forced the action in the first half, controlling the ball and eventually taking a 1-0 lead on a blast from junior Miguel Silva. But the Mustangs would soon retaliate with back-to-back goals less than five minutes apart before the break.
“Watsonville’s got a great squad. We’ve got to give it up to them,” Padilla said. “They’re going to be a tough team to beat. I feel sorry for those people who play against them in league. Those guys, they move the ball very well. They are very skilled players and they got a great goalie. They’re a strong team.”
Once the garlic express got rolling though, it was almost impossible to tell which team was stronger in the battle of the titans in the Central Coast Section. Senior striker Javier Hernandez, who was on the varsity team that was knocked off by Watsonville in the first-round of the playoffs two years ago, broke the ice for Gilroy with the tying goal on a beautiful placement blast inside the far post.
The Mustangs did not take long to strike again, as Diaz de Leon netted the go-ahead goal, finishing an skillful series of events. Diaz de Leon started the play by beating a defender, dribbling to the net, and taking a shot that was deflected high up into the air. Alcantar used a gentle bicycle kick to get the ball to Hernandez in front before Diaz de Leon got the ball back to score.
“I think I was talking to my wife last night and I said, ‘You know what, I think we’re ready to take a fall here pretty soon. To be 10-0-2, it’s amazing. Brian and I are just incredibly surprised,” Padilla said. “That way we can reflect and find out the things we did wrong and go from there.”
A one-goal lead is never safe and in the second half Watsonville netted the equalizer on a quick counter strike after a near goal for the Mustangs. Junior Armando Munoz, named the Cup’s Most Valuable Player, put a hard shot past Gilroy keeper Luis Esqueda, who played steady for the entire game before Velasquez stepped between the pipes for penalty kicks.
“This game will bring us up so next game we’ll be ready,” Arteaga said. “Now we know if you tie, that’s not going to help out so better get a win.”
The Mustangs will have the holiday break to practice hard and do not have a scheduled game until their Jan. 9 league opener on the road against Salinas at 5 p.m.
“Actually to go into league with a loss or a game where you don’t play as well as you should is a good thing because you don’t go in overconfident,” Hall said. “You go in with the mindset that we have to work harder so over the next two weeks as we prepare for our first league game we just got to have that mindset.”
