SHS, LO hope to snap winless streaks as league begins
Tuesday
MORGAN HILL — There are good wins and losses; there are bad wins and losses. And, in the case of Live Oak boys soccer, there are good ties – lots of them.
That is how Acorns coach Tony Goble described his team’s final three nonleague matches. Live Oak settled for “good ties” against Sobrato (0-0), Harbor (2-2) and Alvarez (1-1). Good, because they weren’t losses; good, because they came against quality opponents; good because they left the Acorns (0-2-4 overall) hungry for wins going into West Valley Division play.
“I think we’re getting there,” Goble, whose team plays its first league game at 3:15 p.m. today at Del Mar (1-2-3), said in a telephone interview Monday. “We’re as ready as can be to start winning games. We had a good turnout for practices and training [during winter break]. The guys are focused.”
Scoring goals hasn’t been a problem as of late. Following a season-opening 2-2 tie against Homestead, Live Oak was held scoreless in its next three contests but bounced back with two goals against Harbor and one against Alvarez.
On top of shoring up their defense, the Acorns have discovered a new offensive weapon in junior forward Ubaldo Lopez.
“He went from being, pretty much, someone I don’t know to about a part-time player to a full-time starter,” Goble said. “I think our defense is OK. We’re changing some things up. We lost a good senior from last year, but some others have stepped up.”
The Acorns’ goal is to make sectionals, Goble said, but, to do so, the team will likely have to win the Blossom Valley Athletic League ‘C’ division outright. The West Valley sent one team to the 2009 Central Coast Section playoffs, Prospect — which won the Division III championship.
“We’re going to take it one game at a time,” Goble said.
Sobrato coach Ricardo Martinez is content with his team’s 1-1-3 finish in nonconference play but on Monday insisted the Bulldogs could have tallied more wins if they finished games.
Martinez’s squad spent all of winter break shaping up for Santa Teresa Division play. The Bulldogs trained nearly every weekday, starting at 6 a.m.
“The kids work hard. They never give up,” Martinez said. “I’m very proud of their dedication. The first week of break, we had 16 or 17 guys at practice and 13 to 15 for the second week. Obviously, some guys went out of town.
“We worked on our fitness and finishing.”
Sobrato can showcase its progress at 3:15 p.m. today at Gunderson. In their only nonleague match, the Grizzlies tied Evergreen Valley 3-3.
“I don’t know too much about them, but they’re just as good as anyone in this league,” Martinez said.
Jovani Franco leads the Bulldogs in scoring with three points — one goal, one assist — and is one of three Sobrato players who have scored a goal, joining Simon Schmidt and Miles Mammen.
