For the second time in as many weeks, San Benito defeats Pacific
Collegiate School; San Benito’s next scheduled game against King
City remains up in the air
HOLLISTER
Playing their fifth game in a week on Monday, the San Benito girls soccer was a little fatigued against visiting Live Oak, and it showed.
On Thursday, visiting Pacific Collegiate School may have been dealt a similar lethargic situation as they had only two substitutes, and San Benito took advantage.
After the Pumas took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute, the Lady ‘Balers scored four unanswered goals and earned their seventh win of the season with a 4-1 victory at home.
Sara Yamasaki, Sophie Coelho, Hannah Cobb and Daniela Ocampo each pocketed a goal for San Benito, which improves to 7-1-1 with the win. JC Clayton had two assists, and Coelho and Cobb each added one as well.
It was the second time this season the Lady ‘Balers had defeated Pacific Collegiate. On Nov. 24, San Benito downed the Santa Cruz school 4-2 at the Watsonville Turkey Tournament. But despite the greater margin of victory on Thursday, San Benito head coach Ben Alvarez felt his team performed better against PCS at the Watsonville tournament.
“Our playing, our passing was not as precise as it was at the tournament,” said Alvarez, who is certainly not allowing his team to become any at all complacent, despite their strong start. “At the tournament, we played outstanding, and our passing was exceptional.”
After PCS went up 1-nil on Felicia King’s header off a corner kick in the 10th minute, San Benito managed to control the middle of the field and keep possession deep in Puma territory for the remainder of the half.
Although frequent offsides calls in the first half seemed to spoil any offensive rhythm for San Benito, they did get on the scoreboard in the 23rd minute after a cross pass from Coelho was corralled by Clayton on the left side.
Clayton passed back toward the middle, where Yamasaki booted a goal into the left side of the net from 20 yards out.
The Pumas came out strong in the second half as well, but the Lady ‘Balers managed to score the go-ahead goal seven minutes in when Yamasaki’s cross pass from the left, which appeared to be for Cobb, bounced all the way to Coelho on the right side.
Cobb, though, pulled two defenders away in the process, supplying Coelho with an easy one-on-one, and she scored the eventual game-winner in the 47th minute.
The Lady ‘Balers tacked on two more goals in the 57th and 62nd minutes, each of which came from the right side.
“I sent everybody to the right. I tried attacking one side over and over and over,” Alvarez said. “I attacked the right side for about five to 10 minutes, he brought someone over on the mid, so I switched to the left side.”
The back-and-forth strategy, coupled with San Benito’s sheer speed late in the game, proved to be Pacific Collegiate’s undoing.
San Benito made it 3-1 when Cobb one-touched to a streaking Ocampo down the right sideline, who dribbled in from the 18 and connected on a score into the opposite side of the net.
But perhaps their most impressive goal came five minutes later when Clayton dribbled away from the left sideline and found Coelho sprinting down the right side. Coelho beat her defender around the goal line and made a centering pass to Cobb, who banked it in off the left post.
The Lady ‘Balers, which opened the season with four straight victories, will look to begin another win streak next week.
Their next opponent, however, remains up in the air.
San Benito was scheduled to play at King City next Tuesday, where earlier this week two siblings were shot multiple times immediately following the North Salinas-King City girls soccer match.
According to reports, a 15-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister were both shot multiple times on Tuesday while the two soccer teams were exchanging postgame handshakes.
Alvarez has already stated that his team will not be making the trip to King City. High school officials are in discussion to move the game to Hollister, although nothing has been made official.
Alvarez has made it clear, though, that either the game is played in Hollister or it’s not played at all.
“We don’t want to deal with that. It’s too dangerous to be dealing with that right now,” Alvarez said. “And that’s the only way we’re gonna play them, if they come here.”
San Benito Athletic Director Tod Thatcher could not be immediately reached for comment at publication.
Thursday’s King City-Seaside boys soccer match, originally scheduled to be played at King City, was moved to Seaside as a result of the shootings.
If the game is not played, San Benito’s next scheduled contest will be at home to Notre Dame next Friday for the Tri-County Athletic League opener.
