Bulldogs begin season with 3-1 victory
MORGAN HILL
Freshman Carlos Jimenez scored Christopher High School’s first goal in varsity boys soccer, but the Sobrato Bulldogs were the ones doing most of the celebrating Wednesday in the Outdoor Sports Center.
Sobrato built a commanding lead with early scores by Felipe Villamares and Scott Henningsen, and Shawn Henner blasted home an insurance goal in the 39th minute as the Bulldogs opened with a 3-1 victory in nonleague play.
Making their varsity debut, the Cougars looked like the more aggressive side early on, keeping the ball on Sobrato’s half of the field with timely passing and stout defense.
“It took us a while to get composure,” Bulldogs coach Ricardo Martinez said. “It was pretty sloppy when we first started out.”
Sobrato made better use of its scoring opportunities, starting with Villamares goal in the fifth minute. From 20 yards out, the junior midfielder got the ball in space, took two steps toward net then unloaded a pinpoint shot into the top right corner, freezing Christopher goalkeeper Ivan Ortega.
Henningsen struck a minute later, cleaning up a loose ball in front of the net after Ortega stopped his first shot from point-blank range. Miles Mammen set up the score with a nice pass up top to Henner, who crossed to Henningsen.
“Miles is amazing in the middle,” Henner said. “He so good at what he does. He makes great passes, and we just try to get open and score.”
Henner, the back-to-back Sophomore and Freshman of the Year in the Santa Teresa Division, did just that in the final minute before halftime — with Henningsen returning the favor. Henningsen threaded the ball to him in open space about 25 yards away from the goal, and Henner turned and fired into the net to make it 3-1.
“We’ve been working on possession of the ball, not getting too excited,” Martinez said. “I’m happy with the effort I saw as the game went on. The guys played with the right attitude and didn’t get frustrated.”
Christopher coach Stephen Casey wanted a better showing from his young team, which features seven freshmen, seven sophomores, six juniors and no seniors.
“For us, our goal this year is to win as many games as we can and just get better as a team,” he said.
At least Jimenez came away with a boost in confidence. The forward scored off a perfectly placed cross from Braulio Lopez in the 26th minute, one-timing the ball with his right foot on a slide. Sobrato goalkeeper Ramsey Ghamrawi, who had five saves in one half of play, didn’t have a chance.
“It was definitely a good feeling,” Jimenez said. “I play defense during the club season, so it was fun getting to score.”
Sobrato players were happy just to get a win, never mind if it was Christopher’s first varsity game. The Bulldogs have a showdown Saturday against reigning Division II section champion St. Francis.
“It’s not really much of an accomplishment, but it’s something we can build off of,” Sobrato defender Kimanni Shannon said. “We can see where we stand as a team and where we need to work on.”
Live Oak 0, Monta Vista 0
Continuing a trend from last year, the Acorns began the season with a scoreless draw Monday in a Homestead Christmas Cup game at Live Oak High School.
A win would have felt refreshing for the returning Acorns, who tied or lost their first seven games in 2009-10 only to win the West Valley Division and reach the Central Coast Section Division III quarterfinals. Live Oak was unbeaten in its final 15 games, a streak that continued Monday against Monta Vista.
The Acorns host Christopher at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Saratoga 60, Live Oak 31
In a season-opener between playoff-starved programs, the Falcons ran away and hid in the first half, building a 23-point advantage to bury the Acorns.
Chris Guengerich paced Saratoga with 10 points, including three 3-pointers.
Senior center Kevin O’Rourke had a game-high 13 points, and Austin Carvalho scored seven to lead Live Oak.
The Acorns play their first home game at 7 p.m. Monday against Del Mar.
