Sophomore’s goal the difference in 1-0 win over Priory
SAN JOSE — The benefits of being a No. 2 seed ended with a first-round bye.
Against No. 10 Priory, the Lady Acorns were locked in a tense battle for the first 70 minutes of Saturday’s Central Coast Section quarterfinal at Piedmont Hills High.
“Once the game starts, seedings don’t mean a thing,” Live Oak coach Tony Vasquez said. “I had to calm the girls down several times. They were nervous, panicky. The pressure of the game got to them, I think.”
Sam Riolo put that to rest in the 72nd minute. The sophomore lined up a pass from Fabi Diaz and one-timed in a shot from less than 5 yards out, sending the Acorns to a 1-0 victory that kept alive their hope of winning the Division III tournament.
Wednesday, they will face No. 3 Santa Cruz in their first CCS semifinal since 2004 — the year of Live Oak’s last section championship.
“After the game, our confidence pretty much stayed the same as it was before,” Riolo said. “We have to keep it in our heads that we need to do better than everyone else the whole way to win CCS.”
Riolo’s goal highlighted what little offense the Acorns (13-4-4) could muster against Priory (10-6-6), the runner-up from the Foothill Division of the West Bay Athletic League.
The Mount Hamilton Division champions had trouble adjusting to the artificial turf.
“We were trying to do those long passes we get away with on grass. On turf, we can’t catch up to them as well,” Vasquez said. “They have a good defense. Once we shortened our passes and tried to play feet, we created more opportunities.”
The Acorns — ranked No. 14 by the San Jose Mercury News — were tested defensively but got big saves from Gladis Covarrubias and Selena Braun. Covarrubias, a senior, saw her first action since Jan. 2 when she injured her knee during a 2-1 loss to St. Francis.
“Gladis went in for the second half and played very well,” Vasquez said. “I was second guessing myself at first, but she said she felt good. It was great to see her out there again.”
The decisive scoring play was set up on a throw-in by Tiffany Greer, who found Diaz in traffic in front of the net. Riolo had been moved up top from defender to add pressure.
“We did what we could on the turf. We managed,” Riolo said. “We definitely like playing on grass more, but we have to get used to this.”
Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. semifinal and Satuday’s championship game are scheduled to be played on artificial turf at Valley Christian High.
Live Oak and Santa Cruz (13-3-4) played to a 1-1 tie Dec. 15.
“They’re a very good team. They have a very good coach, and they’re very organized,” Vasquez said. “We’re going to have to work hard again.”
