Earlier in the month, Sobrato boys soccer coach Ricardo Martinez
said Evergreen Valley was one of the toughest opponents the
Bulldogs had faced this season. He felt that the Cougars were the
best team in the league, and that the loss to Evergreen was a one
he wanted to get back. On Thursday, the Bulldogs beat the No. 1
Cougars 2-1, avenging their 4-2 loss from Jan. 2.
Morgan Hill – Earlier in the month, Sobrato boys soccer coach Ricardo Martinez said Evergreen Valley was one of the toughest opponents the Bulldogs had faced this season.
He felt that the Cougars were the best team in the league, and that the loss to Evergreen was a one he wanted to get back.
On Thursday, the Bulldogs beat the No. 1 Cougars 2-1, avenging their 4-2 loss from Jan. 2.
The Cougars had been bullying their way in the West Valley Division this season going 13-4 and 10-1 in league play leading up to the game. Evergreen was on an 11-game win streak coming to Morgan Hill.
“Our guys came out playing with a lot of intensity,” Martinez said. “We put a lot of pressure on them. We played a lot better defensively then we did in our last game against them.”
The victory improved Sobrato’s record to 9-3-3 and 7-1-2 in West Valley play. Only the No. 1 Cougars stand in the way of the Bulldogs pursuit of winning league.
First-half goals by junior midfielders Chrystopher Garcia and Victor Iracheta were all the offense the Bulldogs needed.
Sobrato took a 2-0 lead going into half time.
Garcia’s goal came off a shot from 25 yards away from the goal. The shot flew past the Evergreen goalkeeper’s head and rang off the post and into the net.
In the second half, Sobrato clamped down on defense as Evergreen charged its way back in the game.
“They picked up their speed of play and caught us on our heels,” Martinez said.
A goal with under five minutes left to play by Diego Ochoa brought the Cougars to within one goal, but senior goalkeeper Trevor Newcomb didn’t allow any more shots behind him to secure the win.
The two goals scored against them was unusual for the Cougars. Evergreen Valley had shut out five of its last seven opponents before giving up two to Sobrato.
“They aren’t used to being down in games,” Martinez said. “They were getting frustrated in the first half.”
Martinez said that although his players were excited to beat the No. 1 team, he reminded them that the season isn’t over.
“We have to continue playing hard,” Martinez said, ” and keep the intensity up. Just beating Evergreen doesn’t guarantee wins against everyone else.”
Up next for the Bulldogs is Westmont today in San Jose. Westmont is 5-4-5 and 3-2-5 in league play.
The two teams tied 1-1 in their match earlier this month.
