San Benito Hopes to Redeem Early Season Shutout to Gilroy
Hollister – The schedule isn’t getting any easier for the San Benito girls soccer team. After falling to Tri-County Athletic League leader North Salinas over the weekend, the Haybalers now hit the road to face rival Gilroy tomorrow. With a 7-0 defeat to the Mustangs already in the books, San Benito hopes its new look might turn the tide.
Winless in league play with five matches to go, the ‘Balers hope that changing to more of an attacking unit will jump-start its offense. After consecutive 1-0 defeats to Salinas and Notre Dame, San Benito head coach Mike Schurig restructured his team’s 4-4-2 alignment to place freshman Rachel Maheu up top where she can wreak havoc on opposing defenses.
“She’s committed to moving the ball up when she can,” said Schurig of his new attacking center-mid forward, “but she’s also solid defensively.”
Despite the ‘Balers’ 3-0 loss to host North Salinas on Saturday, Schurig believed the change has already been a success.
“We were much, much better offensively, but we couldn’t get it in the net,” said the San Benito coach. “It really, really helped.”
The ‘Balers, taking the field with just 12 players due to injuries to Sarah Mullen and Emily Key, in addition to two absences due to family commitments, did well to play the Vikings to a scoreless draw at the half. North Salinas, the top-scoring team in the TCAL, scored early in the second half, but then not again until it got two goals in the final ten minutes.
“We were able to match up to them excellent in the first half,” said Schurig. “We did very, very well to hold them scoreless for over 50 minutes.”
With a scrimmage yesterday against San Benito’s junior varsity team, the varsity ‘Balers (4-9-2, 0-6-1 TCAL) enjoyed another chance to put their new game-plan to work–a shift they hope will allow them to atone for their embarrassing loss to Gilroy on Dec. 13.
“That was a tough loss and the girls took it to heart,” said Schurig of his team’s TCAL opener. “We have a commitment from an offensive and defensive standpoint to not let that happen again.”
As for the ‘Balers’ pursuit of that elusive first league win, Schurig believes his hard-working team will soon see the fruits of its labor.
“I really know we’re going to have some wins here,” said the San Benito coach. “I think the girls are pumped. They’re ready to go. Positive, optimistic and looking to the future.”
