San Benito girls soccer head coach Ben Alvarez didn’t want to put pressure on his young team before Tuesday’s match against Gilroy, but he knew the team was well aware the Balers needed a win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Against the then undefeated Mustangs, Alvarez knew it could be a daunting task.
Luckily for the Balers, the young talent was up for the challenge.
Behind two first-half goals, San Benito gave Gilroy its first loss of the Tri-County Athletic League in a 3-0 victory at Andy Hardin Field on Tuesday.
The San Benito victory keeps the Balers, now 5-2-2 in league play and 8-5-4 overall, a contender for a playoff berth with only three games remaining.
Meanwhile, despite the loss, the Mustangs remain atop the TCAL standings with a 7-1-1 league record. The loss, though, keeps Salinas and San Benito close behind.
In Tuesday’s match, the Balers dominated the ball possession in the game’s early going.
San Benito used its excessive speed to its advantage by bringing the ball down the center of the field and placing the ball down the right and left sidelines to allow its speed to take over.
“I decided to keep switching the speed,” Alvarez said, pointing out the use of forwards Kelly Gottron and Chace Miguel. “We put speed up front. I kept the speed on top and decided to keep the center of the midfield intact. We were working as a team. They were working very, very good.”
Nearly six minutes into the game, the Balers took advantage.
After San Benito was awarded a corner kick, Karly Leon fired the ball into a swarm of Gilroy defenders and San Benito attackers. The ball careened off of a pair of Mustangs before squeezing by the outreached arms of Gilroy’s keeper Alejandra Aceves.
Gilroy quickly responded, though, with pressure themselves.
Gilroy’s Rogers Morgan and Cynthia Sanchez controlled the Mustang attack, which built multiple chances in the game’s first half.
Sanchez missed the net twice after gaining space inside the San Benito keeper’s box. Despite the Mustang chances, Gilroy was never able to gain an equalizer.
Instead, San Benito used defensive pressure to close gaps and force quick decisions from the Mustangs.
“It was a good game. Hollister came out and they really pressured us and showed that they really wanted it deep down,” Gilroy head coach Jose Hernandez said. “Other than that, we just kind of focus on us. Kudos to Hollister, they deserved the win.”
After multiple missed opportunities by Miguel, the young freshman added to the Baler lead in the first half’s 18th minute.
On a long pass from Gottron, Miguel, waiting just outside the keeper’s box, headed the ball past the diving Aceves.
The ball sailed into the upper-left corner of the goal to give the Balers a 2-0 lead.
Again, right after the Baler goal, Gilroy’s Sanchez threatened. Gaining a one-on-one with a corner San Benito defender, Sanchez used quick moves to gain space and fire a shot that just missed to the right of the goal post.
Sanchez’s shot, which rolled just inches away, was the closest Gilroy would get to scoring a goal.
In the second half, the two traded possessions, but could never gain an offensive opportunity until the final minutes of the half.
After a full attack by Gilroy with minutes left in the contest, San Benitos’ Hildelisa Lopez earned a one-on-one with Gilroy’s Aceves.
The Gilroy keeper dove to the ground to push the ball away from Lopez, but the Baler junior used a quick move to get around Aceves and shot the ball into the empty Gilroy net.
The goal, scored in the 79th minute, was the game’s final score.
“It was a good play, actually,” Lopez said of her goal. “It was good passing. It was amazing. Well, we actually tried not to panic and get the ball up. I’m out of words. It’s just team work. We wanted this all along and we finally got it. It was good.”
With the win, the Balers are playing their best soccer of the year, Alvarez said.
“I think the momentum is going right now,” he said. “I think they will finish strong. They will come on strong because that’s the goal. Whatever happens in the end, the goal is to finish strong. That’s the mentality that they bring into each game. That’s all I can ask for from the kids.”
San Benito will attempt to keep the momentum moving forward Friday when the team travels to Notre Dame at 5:15 p.m.
For Gilroy, the loss will serve as a late-season learning lesson, Hernandez said.
“It’s the wind-down part (of the season) so after every game we try to learn,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s just a reminder to clean up our habits … We need to make sure we are staying together and working forward.”
Gilroy hosts Alvarez at 5:15 p.m. Thursday.
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