GILROY
– The Gavilan College women’s soccer team may be looking a
little different this season with a new head coach and an entirely
new group of kickers.
GILROY – The Gavilan College women’s soccer team may be looking a little different this season with a new head coach and an entirely new group of kickers.
Marty Behler, who came to Gavilan from Hartnell College, has 14 ladies on her roster who are ready to play and give Gavilan a new reputation.
Behler’s task will be a little easier because every player on the team comes in with varsity soccer experience.
Behler’s top two players, Cynthia Pinto and Andrea Londono, were both recruited out of high school.
Pinto is from Livingston High School, where she had two goals and had two assists in an All-Star game.
“I’m counting on her to be a leading scorer,” Behler said about the freshman.
Londono will get the nod as the team’s goalie because of her experience, excellent foot skills and strong hand-eye coordination.
“She has a good presence,” Behler said of the Merced High School recruit. “You can feel she’s a good goalkeeper who can stop, kick and maneuver the ball. That’s a great plus. You’re not going to be able to find a weakness in her.”
Although the Rams just started practice on Aug. 19, the ladies have developed a bond already, Behler said. They are very supportive of each other and are always motivating one another.
“They’ve got a lot of heart and soul,” Behler said. “They’re going to win some games just on sure will just because they’ll refuse to lose.”
With the experienced players she has, Behler is hoping to construct a strong team. The optimistic coach stated that her goal is “to establish ourselves as a competitive team.”
“The girls have demonstrated that they can play the game of soccer and that they can execute,” Behler said. “There is no doubt in my mind that we’ve got the players to make that a reality.”
“It will be an interesting season,” said Tony Vasquez, the Live Oak girls coach who is working as an assistant for Gavilan. “We are building the program from the ground up. We’ll be rebuilding until we can get some of the local girls that I have coached and coached against.”
Gavilan probably won’t dominate the way Live Oak has in the past, but it should be able to hold its own, Vasquez said.
It won’t be as easy to get a victory against the Rams as it might have been in the past.
“The ultimate goal is for the other coaches to know they are going to have to write down a game plan to defeat us,” Behler said. “They are going to come in expecting to roll over this team, and that’s not going to happen.”
You can catch the Lady Rams first home on Sept. 9 against Chabot College.
