Clayton scores two goals as San Benito upsets North Salinas
Hollister – San Benito made a statement Thursday that it is a team to be reckoned with in the Tri-County Athletic League girls soccer race.
The Haybalers, who Tuesday snapped a nearly two-year league winless streak, won their second straight in TCAL play by handing defending champion North Salinas its first league loss of the season with a 3-1 home victory.
“This means that (Tuesday’s) win wasn’t just luck,” senior captain Brittany Huth said. “We worked hard and played like we were supposed to play.”
In a showdown that pitted the league’s top two scorers, neither North Salinas’ Tannia Hernandez nor San Benito’s Sophie Coelho recorded a goal. But the ‘Balers ability to shut down the Vikings’ high-powered offense, which had been led by Hernadez’s 22 goals, proved crucial in helping San Benito (7-3-2, 2-1-1 TCAL) earn its biggest win of the season.
“We had Carly (Brigantino) mark (Hernandez), but the big thing was we didn’t let anyone get off shots,” ‘Balers coach Mike Schurig said.
San Benito came out firing from the beginning and its aggressive play helped it take the lead. Huth fired a kick into the ‘Balers zone and Coelho, who had a hat trick Tuesday and is second to Hernandez with 12 goals, passed toward JC Clayton.
Clayton corralled the ball and from a tough angle she fired a shot toward the goal and it found the back of the net in the game’s second minute to give San Benito the lead.
“That boosted us up,” Clayton said of the early tally. “Once we scored, we knew we could keep it going.”
The ‘Balers continued to play with plenty of intensity, despite temperatures that dipped into the low 40s. They had several other near scoring attempts in the first half and kept the Vikings (7-3-1, 3-1-0 TCAL) from mounting a serious threat.
In the second half, San Benito, which previously blew a two-goal lead to Gilroy in a 2-2 tie Dec. 14, refused to let up.
Twelve minutes into the half, Ashlyn Gonzales booted a pass into the middle of the field in front of the circle. Clayton raced toward the ball, beat the North Salinas goalkeeper to it and directed it into the net for a 2-0 lead.
One minute later, Coelho sent a cross pass to Gonzales, who fired home a left-footed shot to put the ‘Balers on top 3-0.
“What’s nice is that other people are scoring other than Sophie,” Schurig said of his freshman forward who had accounted for 60 percent of the ‘Balers goals entering this game. “JC stepped up big time. She’s someone we’re relying on.”
While the win was a big step forward for a team that finished last in league last year, it knows that beating a team such as North Salinas will ensure that other teams won’t look past the ‘Balers.
“We need to keep practicing as hard as we play,” Huth said. “We need to play 100 percent for the whole entire game.”
For Schurig, this game and the way his team has played so far this year is a validation that it’s moving in the right direction.
“We were a better team than our record last year,” he said. “This shows what we can do.”
