Maybe a Tri-County Athletic League title wasn
’t at stake when the Live Oak High boys soccer team hosted rival
Gilroy on Thursday. But that didn’t mean LO coach Tony Goble wasn’t
hoping his team would turn in a strong performance. Despite the
fact that they can still clinch the league championship with a win
against Hollister-San Benito o
n Tuesday, the Acorns had plenty of reasons to be motivated for
this week’s showdown.
Maybe a Tri-County Athletic League title wasn’t at stake when the Live Oak High boys soccer team hosted rival Gilroy on Thursday. But that didn’t mean LO coach Tony Goble wasn’t hoping his team would turn in a strong performance.
Despite the fact that they can still clinch the league championship with a win against Hollister-San Benito on Tuesday, the Acorns had plenty of reasons to be motivated for this week’s showdown.
Unfortunately for LO, none of those reasons were enough to help them avoid a 1-0 loss to the visiting Mustangs. It was the first loss of the season for a LO team that had risen to No. 2 in the Central Coast Section rankings.
But with the chance to clinch the league title and a higher playoff seed against their neighboring rivals, a team they had beaten earlier this season, the Acorns came out flat and were consistently outplayed by Gilroy.
“Very obviously, we didn’t play well at all,” Goble said. “But give the credit to Gilroy. They kicked our butts.”
LO had its share of chances to score but couldn’t convert, while the Mustangs were peppering the Acorn goal with shots.
Finally, Gilroy tallied its goal on a relatively harmless-looking shot from 30 yards out midway through the second half – a laser that junior center-mid Ben Alcantar absolutely nailed – that found the back of the net in the 63rd minute.
Goble said his team will have to play much better if it is to make any progress in the CCS playoffs.
“This was a wake-up call for some kids,” he said. “We have to put the ball in the net, especially when it comes time for the playoffs. Our forwards have been beating up on the weaker teams but we can’t seem to come through against the better teams. This was like a playoff game and it’s going to be all good teams in the playoffs. We have to put this behind us and move forward. Better now than in the playoffs.”
LO fell to 14-1-3 overall, 7-1-1 in league, while Gilroy improved to 12-2-3 overall, 5-1-2 in league.
