Behind a late goal from Sara Yamasaki on Wednesday, San Benito
edged the visiting Cowboys by a single score and will now await
their proper seeding in next week’s Central Coast Section Division
I playoffs.
But before any playoff arrangements will be made, perhaps the
perfect postseason tune-up will come Friday, when the Lady Balers
will visit undefeated Gilroy (11-0 TCAL) at 5 p.m.
HOLLISTER
A playoff berth is all but official now. That much was made certain in the 69th minute of Wednesday’s game between San Benito and Salinas — a key 2-1 victory for the host Lady Balers.
“That seals the deal for us going to the playoffs,” San Benito head coach Ben Alvarez said. “We’ve got to get ready for the next team now.”
And that’s where things are sure to get interesting.
Behind a late goal from Sara Yamasaki on Wednesday, San Benito edged the visiting Cowboys by a single score and will now await their proper seeding in next week’s Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.
But before any playoff arrangements will be made, perhaps the perfect postseason tune-up will come Friday, when the Lady Balers will visit undefeated Gilroy (11-0 TCAL) at 5 p.m.
A road win for San Benito (10-1 TCAL) will not only avenge January’s 3-0 home loss to the Mustangs, but also provide a share of the Tri-County Athletic League championship, a title the Lady Balers have not had since 2007.
Few would comment as to what a win over Gilroy would mean on Wednesday, however. Celebrating Senior Day, not to mention their fifth straight win, the Lady Balers’ crucial victory over Salinas (7-4-1 TCAL) means they can finish no worse than second place in the TCAL.
Last year, San Benito finished in third after tying Salinas 1-1 in the second to last game of the season, and narrowly missed the postseason as a result.
“It was huge,” San Benito defender Samantha Moreno said. “This means a lot, especially considering this is my last home game.”
Moreno was one of six seniors on San Benito this season, including Jessica Castro, Jasmine Flores, Elizabeth Miller, Victoria Murray and Jocelyn Serrano.
Despite the pregame festivities, though, in which the team’s six seniors were honored, San Benito came out sluggish in the first half, Alvarez said.
“We knew Salinas was gonna come out strong at us,” said Alvarez, whose Lady Balers narrowly defeated the Cowboys by a 1-0 margin on Jan. 22.
Said Moreno, “We kind of played like we had this, until we saw they were just as good as us.”
San Benito’s slow start didn’t necessarily reflect in the halftime score, however, as Berniece Bribiesca found Tori Perez in the 14th minute to supply the Lady Balers with an early 1-0 lead.
The lead would hold until halftime.
“I think in the second half, they woke up,” Alvarez said. “They got it together and they played like the way they should have been playing.”
Although San Benito narrowly out-shot Salinas by an 8-5 margin, the Lady Balers controlled much of the game in the second half, and kept the Cowboys’ scoring opportunities few and somewhat low-percentage.
Of course, a penalty kick is anything but low percentage.
“That was unlucky for us,” Alvarez said.
Following a tripping penalty on the Lady Balers in the 59th minute, which awarded the Cowboys a PK, Salinas’ Arielle Rivera found the back of the net on the left side to knot the match at 1-all — the offering just skimming off the outstretched hands of Elizabeth Miller in net.
“As soon as I saw that goal, it did scare me,” Moreno said of Salinas’ equalizer. “But I think everyone, right away, turned it on. Everyone wanted to score that second goal.”
And what turned out to be the game-winner came just 10 minutes later. San Benito’s attack was clearly upgraded following Rivera’s goal, leading to several scoring chances off corner kicks and Sara Yamasaki throw-ins.
It wasn’t until the 69th minute did Kelly Gottron sprint down the right sideline before dishing to Karly Leon near the 18. Leon received the pass in stride before lofting a shot over the Salinas keeper.
The breakaway attempt bounced once and was about to go in when a Salinas defender punched out the offering at the goal line, and appeared to thwart San Benito’s best scoring chance.
But the attempt to clear by Salinas was intercepted by Yamasaki, who was trailing the play and corralled the free ball from 10 yards out. The junior mid then laced the go-ahead goal top shelf, and there were no Salinas defenders to stop it.
“In the second half, we pulled it together,” Moreno said.
At 12-4-2, the Lady Balers will have one more regular season game against Gilroy on Friday, while the CCS seedings will be announced on Saturday.
TEAM 1 2 F
SALN 0 1 1
SANB 1 1 2
JV Note:
The San Benito Lady Balers defeated visiting Salinas 3-0 on Wednesday in Hollister.
Goals were scored by Jessica Sanchez, Cynthia Trujillo and Megan Pape.
The Lady Balers will visit Gilroy on Friday. Kick-off is 3:30 p.m.
