Lady ‘Balers score 4 second-half goals en route to 5-2 victory
over Salinas Friday
HOLLISTER
And to think, during two of their first three league games the San Benito High girls soccer team actually had a difficult time scoring.
Since then, well, not so much.
With sole possession of second place in the Tri-County Athletic League on the line Friday, the Lady ‘Balers deposited four goals in the second half, including three in a 15-minute period, and ran away with a big 5-2 victory over visiting Salinas.
San Benito has scored 10 goals in their last two games, including Wednesday’s 5-1 win over Everett Alvarez, and haven’t lost a game in their last seven contests dating back to Dec. 1.
Perhaps more importantly, San Benito (3-0-2 TCAL, 11-1-3) put five goals up on the scoreboard against a team in Salinas (3-3 TCAL, 9-4) that has not allowed more than three goals in any one game this season.
“I thought it was gonna be really tough, and it was,” said Sara Yamasaki, who had a goal and two assists Friday. “We’ve just been having little scores, but (today) we came out shooting.”
To go one step further, Gilroy, which is undefeated at 5-0 and sits in first place in the TCAL, defeated Salinas 2-0 Wednesday.
San Benito and Gilroy will square off at the Garcia-Elder Sports Complex on Wednesday evening.
“This was major,” said JC Clayton, who had an assist against Salinas. “It’s nice because now we know we have a really good chance at Gilroy. Coming into this it was kind of iffy … But it was definitely nice to get a win out of this.”
The win for San Benito was especially iffy early on in a game that was far closer than the three-goal margin may suggest.
The Lady ‘Balers only led 1-0 at halftime after Yamasaki delivered a well placed through ball to teammate Sophie Coelho in the 10th minute. Coelho beat a pair of defenders to the left side, and although it seemed she was out of position to shoot and would need to cross back toward the center, Coelho delivered a cross shot into the right side of the net, despite the awkward angle.
From there, though, Salinas upped the intensity, upped the attack, and controlled the remaining 30 minutes of the first half.
“I noticed my mids were not coming back,” San Benito head coach Ben Alvarez said. “[Salinas] was getting that momentum going, but we had to stop them. We had to take that away from them.”
Fatigue also seemed to be a factor, and the Cowboys continued to penetrate inside San Benito’s zone early in the second half as well, eventually knotting the game at 1 in the 46th minute.
Salinas continued to control the game shortly thereafter until San Benito’s Hannah Cobb took the ball the length of the field and finally out of Lady ‘Baler territory.
“She created,” Alvarez said of Cobb, who was awarded a corner kick on the play.
Cobb’s ensuing corner kick bounced off a ‘Baler in the box and landed on the right leg of Yamasaki, who swung away and deposited a would-be goal into the right side of the net.
The ball, however, was actually caught by a Salinas player before it went in.
“I have never seen that before,” Yamasaki said. “She was standing right in the corner, and if she wasn’t standing there it would have gone in.”
Instead of being awarded a penalty kick, though, officials awarded San Benito with a 2-1 lead in the 52nd minute.
San Benito pocketed two more goals, one in the 65th minute and another in the 67th minute, before the Cowboys had an answer.
In the 65th, Coelho dished off to Yaira Lizarraga, Lizarraga passed back to Coelho, and Coelho split two defenders before finding the back of the net. Two minutes later, a Yamasaki throw-in, which is so powerful that it seconds as a free kick from the sidelines, landed at the outstretched leg of Daniela Ocampo inside the box and gave the Lady ‘Balers a 4-1 lead.
The Cowboys made it 4-2 in the 68th minute to continue the mad flurry of action, while Clayton’s pass to Lizarraga on the left side led to the 5-2 margin.
Lizarraga was actually searching for the cross pass, but without any options decided to loft a near-perfect shot up and over Salinas keeper Jenna Piini.
And it worked.
“It was the only option I had,” Lizarraga said. “We were competing for second (place) with them, so we kind of brought up our game in the second half.”
San Benito will need to raise their game once again on Wednesday when they visit Gilroy and the first-place Mustangs (5-0 TCAL, 8-2-3). Kick-off is at 5 p.m.
“There is no reason for us not to give Gilroy a good game,” Alvarez said. “I feel that we’re strong enough right now that it should be a very, very, very good game.”
TEAM 1 2 F
SAL 0 2 2
SAN 1 4 5
