San Benito opened the Tri-County Athletic League on Friday, but
couldn’t find the back of the net against Notre Dame as the two
teams finished in a 0-0 tie
HOLLISTER
If you only witnessed the first 10 minutes of regulation on Friday, you would have believed Notre Dame rolled to an easy victory.
If you only saw the last 10 minutes, you would have figured San Benito posted a dominating win.
Instead, although each team had their opportunities, neither Notre Dame nor San Benito rolled or dominated Friday in the Tri-County Athletic League opener in Hollister, where the two teams finished in a scoreless tie.
Although their shots on goal were nearly even in both halves, the Lady ‘Balers started slow and allowed the visiting Spirits to control the middle and the tempo early on.
But as the game progressed, and as San Benito switched from a 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2, the Lady ‘Balers began to put several high-percentage shots on net.
“They had a strong defense. Once we figured what we needed to do in the middle, we started getting shots consistently,” San Benito head coach Ben Alvarez said. “But that first half, we were not awake.
“They were sluggish in the beginning. And with a team like that, we can’t afford for them to come at us like that.”
Notre Dame (1-0-1 TCAL, 4-5-1) may have had their best chance to score in the first five minutes of play, when a loose ball in the box sat between a Spirit attacker and ‘Baler keeper Emily Key.
The two broke for the ball at nearly the same instance, and while Key went to the ground to smother the ball, the Notre Dame forward took a shot directly into Key’s stomach.
“She came out strong,” Alvarez said of his keeper. “She came out of the box when she was supposed to and she communicated with the defense.
“She owned that box. She did outstanding today.”
As both teams upped the physical intensity in the second half, leading to several yellow cards in the process, Alvarez pushed mid Sara Yamasaki to the front with Sophie Coelho, opening up the outside as a result where Hannah Cobb was free to roam.
With approximately 10 minutes left, Cobb delivered a cross from the right side that bounced past Coelho to Yamasaki in front of the net. But the Spirits, which delivered near-lockdown defense all game, had a defender right on Yamasaki.
“I kind of kicked it right into the girl,” Yamasaki said. “She was right in front of me.”
Although Notre Dame keeper Samantha Winslow made the save, the ball was not delivered with the force Yamasaki was hoping for.
“Their defense was pretty solid,” she said. “They just kept swinging it out, kicking the ball down the field.
“We just need to finish.”
Notre Dame, which was fresh off a 1-0 win against Salinas, relied on sweeper Sydney Busch and Winslow to stave off San Benito’s high-scoring attack in the end.
“Hollister has two attackers that are very fast and we had to mark them very tight,” Notre Dame head coach Kurt Gollnick. “To shut them out, it’s a moral victory for us.”
The Lady ‘Balers (0-0-1 TCAL, 7-1-2) will return to the pitch on Monday to host King City at 3:30 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 F
ND 0 0 0
SB 0 0 0
