HAWKS SLIP PAST TIGERS
GALT — It only took one opportunity to make the difference in Liberty Ranch’s 10 victory over Tokay on Tuesday.
Near the end of the first half, Alexis Gamez took a shot from the corner of the box, with a Tokay defender hot on his heels. Tokay goalkeeper Eric Cahue blocked it, but the ricochet bounced in front of Liberty Ranch striker Isaac Sandoval, who punched it inside the far post for the lone goal of the game.
“It’s a good program. I thought we did really well. We had a few chances, at the beginning we missed a good shot,” Tokay coach Ruben Gomez said. “We’re trying different kids still, trying to find our true lineup when league starts, so we’re making some substitutions.”
Missed opportunities was also a theme for the Hawks, who dominated possession but had trouble putting a bullseye on the net.
“My consistent struggle and challenge, is to turn our possession into scoring chances,” Liberty Ranch coach Andrew Fisher said. “We, as a team, typically have a lot of possession. Tokay is a very, very good side, and we, against most teams, even against teams that are of equal or better quality, a lot of times we control possession. Finishing has been a problem for us, and to some extent creating opportunities, although I thought we created better chances tonight than we did the first two games.”
So far this season, the Hawks are 3-0 win a 1-0 win over Chavez, a 3-0 win over McNair and Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Tokay.
“So we’ve scored five goals this year and haven’t given up a goal,” Fisher said. “Galt’s scored 15 goals so far this year. Teams have different identities and ours is possession.”
For Tokay, the game was the first loss of the season. The Tigers beat Franklin of Elk Grove 4-1 and Sheldon 40 before running into Liberty Ranch’s stingy defense.
The Tigers put a few shots on target after Sandoval’s goal, but Liberty Ranch goalkeeper Eduardo Landin was there to stop them. In the second half, Tokay didn’t get a shot off until the last 15 minutes of the game, when a sense of urgency turned the match into a playoff-like atmosphere.
Tokay attempted five shots over the last 10 minutes, with a number of corner kicks sailing into the box for headers, and a pair of Landin saves to preserve the tie.
“Kids sense the urgency. It’s only 1-0, and they’ve been playing the game long enough that they know they have to pressure a little bit more,” Gomez said. “We made some changes to make it a little bit more of an offensive team, but they know that they have to get in close.”
The victory gave the Hawks’ coach a sense that he has a special team on his hands.
“I think we have the potential this year to go really far,” Fisher said. “I think that every year, but this year we’re legit. We have a lot of high quality players. It was just a preseason game, but we do want to keep our momentum.”