Some would say that the one of the biggest marks of a successful
team lies in its ability to overcome adversity and keep its sights
locked on getting the win.
Some would say that the one of the biggest marks of a successful team lies in its ability to overcome adversity and keep its sights locked on getting the win.
The San Benito High girls soccer team had to deal with a bit of adversity on Tuesday in its season opener after falling behind 1-0 to Anzar in the 15th minute of play. The Haybalers kept their focus and roared back into the game, eventually taking a 2-1 victory to get their season started on a high note.
“We came out a bit slow and Anzar came out very strong, they’re a very improved team this season,” said San Benito coach Mike Schurig. “But we rebounded nicely and the girls made adjustments to ensure that they didn’t get another score.”
It didn’t take long for the Balers to get on the scoreboard. Just 10 minutes after the Hawks scored the contest’s first goal, San Benito’s Brittany Huth fired a shot past Anzar’s goalkeeper to tie the game at 1-1.
The game’s second half was an all-out defensive struggle as neither team could find its way past the opposing goalie.
But San Benito wasn’t going to settle for a tie.
With the contest nearing its conclusion at the 55 minute mark, Huth muscled her way past a pair of Anzar defenders, who were doing their best to stall the game by kicking the ball out of bounds whenever the opportunity presented itself, and dropped a perfect pass right at the feet of teammate Rachel Maheu. Maheu had just accelerated past an Anzar defensive player when she receive the pass and she blasted a shot past the Hawks’ advancing goalie into the far-right corner of the net to break the tie and put the Balers up for good.
“I didn’t have to do a lot of yelling from the sidelines to get the girls to make adjustments today,” said Schurig, whose team travels to seaside on Friday for its second game of the season. “They’re a very intelligent group and they made the adjustments themselves.”
San Benito goalkeeper Mary Von Urff had a great game in the net for the Balers, racking up nine saves as she helped preserve the win.
“Mary did a very good job for us today,” said Schurig. “Very few goalkeepers can stop the penalty kick but she’s stopped four in her career so far.”
The junior varsity squad also had a solid open to their 2004 campaign as they defeated the Hawks 2-0.
San Benito got goals from Verennice Fonseca and Nactalye Vicencio in the victory in addition to an impressive performance on the defensive side of the ball from sweeper Janessa Gillies, who dominated the Anzar offense to preserve the shutout for the Haybalers.
