IN SPORTS: TIGERS STAY IN FIRST IN TCAL
Shutout keeps Tokay in first place in the TCAL, two points ahead of Tracy
Tokay High boys soccer coach Ruben Gomez had a tough decision to make toward the end of Tuesday’s Tri-City Athletic League home game against Lincoln.
Should he keep Tigers forward Leonardo Ruiz in the final eight minutes of the game, in an attempt to record a hat trick. If not, remove the senior after the second goal. Gomez chose the latter.
“I took him out,” Gomez said. “I wanted to put him back in so he could try to get a hat trick. But it was kind of late.”
After many shots on goal, it was Ruiz who found the back of the net for the Tigers, one each in the first and second halves. That led to a 2-0 win over the Trojans to keep Tokay in first place in the TCAL at 6-1-1 and 8-3-2, with Tracy in second place at 5-2-1. Lincoln goes to 1-6-1 in league, 4-11-2.
Spreading the offense to the outside of the field, and then shifting to the inside in the first half, the Tigers took 15 shots on goal against the Trojans. Out of that number, eight were taken by forward Ivan Rosales.
“We have a number of kids that can score,” Gomez said.
At the 27th minute of the contest, Ruiz, after having a shot on goal earlier in the first half, took his second chance for a goal. Taking a shot from the side of the box, Ruiz took aim and fired the soccer ball past Lincoln goalie Abel Alcantar to give Tokay a 10 lead.
“When I got the ball, the goalkeeper was out of place,” Ruiz said.
Tokay, which controlled the offensive tempo most of the first half, found it struggling in the first half of the second half. More shots on goal were taken by Rosales, along with teammates Noah Scofield, Michael Valencia and Mathew Salas.
“We tried to spread it out, trying to finish those runs,” Gomez said.
The Tigers looked like another goal would sail into the back of the net in the 36th minute when Valencia, five yards away from the box, side-kicked the ball to Rosales, who punched the ball toward the net. But the shot missed wide.
“We had a lot of shots on target,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz’s second goal came at the 72nd minute of the game. This time on a loose ball in front of the Trojans’ box, with Alcantar away that allowed the ball to slip to the corner of the net for what would be the final score.
“I thought the goal keeper had a hand on (the ball),” said Ruiz of his second goal.
Gomez on Ruiz, “He seemed like the only one that could finish today. He really had a good performance for us. Somebody needed to step up. I was very happy ... as long as the team wins.”
Tokay plays at West on Thursday, and closes out the regular season against cross-town and league rival Lodi (4-3-1 in the TCAL, 6-6-1), which beat West 2-1, also on Tuesday. The Flames are currently tied for third place in league, and battling for one of the league’s three playoff spots.