After a scoreless first half, the Monta Vista Matadors entered the second fully charged, and a late goal by senior Casey Kute led to a 1-0 win against the host Gunn Titans Saturday night in the SCVAL-De Anza Division opener for both teams.
With a more conservative beginning, Monta Vista (5-0-3, 1-0-0) attempted only two shots, one by junior Kelly Ruckstuhl and the other by senior Lauren Hanson. Both were successfully blocked by Gunn goalkeeper junior Adriana Noronha. Gunn (1-3-1, 0-1-0) maintained most of the possession in the first half, with junior midfielder Caroline Anderson attempting two shots and junior Ming Ming Liu going for one.
“I think we played pretty well, especially in the first half,” Gunn senior stopper Catie Chun said. “What worked for us was using our outsides. They were able to get the ball to our forwards in a way that the other team’s defenders wouldn’t get it and our forwards had the advantage.”
However, going into the second, the tables began to turn. Gunn felt the pressure at 53 minutes, when a shot near the corner by Matador junior Angela Inn soared just over the top of the Gunn goal. At that point, the Matador offense was on fire.
Two minutes later, Monta Vista senior Malvika Mecker and Kute swiftly passed the ball back and forth in Gunn territory before Kute quickly kicked the ball into the goal with multiple Gunn defenders on her for the only goal of the game.
“We played a very good second half; the girls put on a lot more pressure, got in more shots, and prevented [Gunn] from getting as many shots,” Monta Vista coach Alan Kute said. “We played harder and didn’t let [Gunn] get time on the ball. It made a difference because most of the plays were on [Gunn’s] half of the field.”
The Matador offense dominated the second half and was rewarded with multiple corner kicks, giving them more opportunities to shoot. Monta Vista senior goalkeeper Gal Haroush improved from three saves in the first to five saves in the second.
“We pressed the game a little bit to make the other team play faster than they want and hopefully turn the ball over so we get possession again,” Kute said.
A crucial block in the second half by junior Gunn defender Bella Harbert thwarted Monta Vista from possibly scoring. She experienced a hard shot in the back of her head about 10 yards from the goal. On offense, Liu and junior midfielder Michelle Carson each had one scoring attempt in the second, while Noronha had three more saves.
“After the first goal was scored, we definitely lost momentum,” Chun said. “We spent a lot of time in the defense, trying to clear it out, but that didn’t work for us. We also need to start communicating more and establishing the passing game a lot earlier at the beginning of both halves.”
According to Kute, the next step for the team is to go 2-0 in league. “We are the first game of league and almost everyone else is starting after January, so we want to get a head start and hopefully get a couple of wins so people have to catch us,” he said.
Kute adds that the girls still have to work on scoring. “We have a lot of 1-0 games, which is great, but a 2-0 or 3-0 game would be better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chun, a team captain, believes the Gunn girls will take their warmups and practices more seriously. “I think we know what the season is going to be like now because this game was a really good indicator how tough the rest of the teams are,” she said.
The Matadors will welcome the undefeated Los Gatos Wildcats into their territory on Dec. 20 at 3:15 pm, while the Titans will travel to San Jose and face the Mt. Pleasant Cardinals on Dec. 21 at 3:30 pm.
