Mustangs get first score against Mitty, but lose 2-1
Gilroy – One of the cardinal sins in sports is getting caught looking ahead.
And yet Erin Magill says she was looking past Mission Trail Athletic League foes to Thursday’s game against Archbishop Mitty. Even coach Erin Gemar admitted as much.
In a game with a playoff-like atmosphere, the unbeaten Monarchs edged Gilroy 2-1 at Garcia-Elder Complex. It was the third time this season Mitty beat the Mustangs. And yet the GHS players and coach thought this was a step in the right direction.
“This was the one we were pointing to,” said Magill, who scored the only Mustangs’ goal. “It’s been that way ever since two weeks ago. We knew we had to come out and play aggressively. I thought we did and that everyone played a good game. This is the level we have to play at for the rest of the season.”
Several kick saves by goalie Stephanie Glenn kept Mitty (15-0-1) out of the net during the first 22 minutes. With 7:53 left in the first half, Katie Fleury unleashed a hard shot off the side padding. Claire Dougherty emerged from the pile to put in the rebound.
GHS (10-4-1) answered 40 seconds later when Dana Schoeneman’s shot was kicked out to Magill, who was there for the putback.
Five minutes into the second half, Amanda Spellman and Magill worked a nifty give-and-go, but Mitty goalie Sarah Deighan positioned herself to keep the Mustangs from scoring.
Two minutes later, Dougherty fired a hard shot at Glenn. The senior goalie kicked it out, one of several acrobatic saves she had during the game. With 17:45 remaining, though, Kelsey Poulsen emerged from a pile in front of the net to stick in the game-winner.
Three minutes later, Kelly Perkins had a hard shot that was kicked out by Deighan, and the Mustangs were in attack mode at the end of the game but came up short.
“Gilroy has a strong program and is well coached,” Monarchs’ coach Justine Hunter said. “Their program continues to get better with the opportunities they’re taking to play better teams.”
Ultimately, Mitty’s team speed and depth proved to be the difference. Hunter noted that she loses little when she goes to her bench, and she was able to keep fresh legs on the field throughout the contest.
Hunter also willingly offered an opinion about Gilroy’s campaign to participate in the Mt. Hamilton League.
“Definitely, they could compete in our league,” Hunter said.
For now, as Magill noted, the Mustangs need to maintain their aggressiveness to finish the regular season strong.
“I was very happy with the way we played,” Gemar said. “The girls were ready. We met at 6:30am (Thursday) and the girls talked about how they had been thinking about this game since halfway through the season. We got what we needed out of this game.”
The previous meetings were 1-0 and 4-0 Mitty wins. This is the first time GHS scored against the Monarchs, a fact not lost on Magill.
“That was huge,” Magill said. “Knowing we can score means knowing we can beat them.”
Magill and her teammates are only hoping they get that chance in a fourth meeting in the playoffs.
JV: Mitty won the junior varsity contest 6-0.
