CAMPBELL, CA - Senior captain Mitchell Angeles scored two goals to lead the Prospect boys soccer team to a 4-2 win at Westmont Friday afternoon in non-league action.
The Panthers (3-0-2) overcame a slow start with three second-half goals to defeat their district rivals.
"It's always going to be a tough game when Prospect and Westmont meet up - only a couple miles separate the schools so we are traditional rivals," Prospect coach Frank Medina said. "Many of the kids went to middle school together, so they know each other very well. It makes it much more fun."
Prospect wrapped up the non-league portion of its season undefeated and will look to compete for a title in the BVAL-Santa Teresa Division. Players like Angeles will be counted on to provide leadership and skill for a team that has been on the cusp of moving up the BVAL-Mount Hamilton "A" Division for several years now.
"Mitchell has a love and passion for the game that is hard to match," Medina said. "He has been on varsity since he was a ninth grader, but has never been healthy going into a season. It's really nice to see him healthy and able to contribute."
Angeles certainly did so on Friday, giving Prospect its first lead of the afternoon in the 42nd minute off a tidy through ball from Matt Biner. Angeles received a pass just inside the penalty area and calmly chipped a shot just inside the left post to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.
Prospect nearly scored a minute later as Jamal Adam was able to push the ball around goalkeeper Stefan Skoff but the ball went over the end line before he was able to latch onto it and tap it into the open net.
Westmont tied the match 2-2 against the run of play in the 48th minute on a brilliant combination down the left side. Cristian Avila fed the ball out wide left to Jonathan Bravo and made a run into the center. Bravo fed a perfectly weighted ball into the center and Avila was able to smash in a first-time shot to make it 2-2.
However, Prospect answered in the 75th minute on a spectacular individual effort from freshman Tanner Ruddy, who netted his first career goal. Ruddy received a pass along the left sideline from Elbert Green, beat a defender to the inside, continued his driving run into the area and found the side netting with a 15-yard strike past the imposing Skoff to make it 3-2.
Angeles wrapped up the scoring with his second of the afternoon, set up by Biner and Adam. He received the ball in the heart of the penalty area and rolled it into the right corner to make it 4-2 in the 77th minute.
The second half was much more wide open after a cautious first half from both teams. Westmont took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute off a free kick near midfield. The ball was lofted into the area to Bruno de Alba, who flicked a header into the net over the outstretched arms of the onrushing goalkeeper.
Prospect responded with an important goal just before the half off a corner kick. Adam received a short pass from Luca Scotzniovsky and pounded a heavy shot into the left corner to make it 1-1.
"At halftime the talk was mainly about picking up the intensity of the play, wasted opportunities in the attacking third," Medina said. "We needed to focus and play even more intensely in that area, as well as the patterns of play that make us more effective in accomplishing that."
Prospect opens league play January 6 at Leland. Westmont (1-3) takes on Los Gatos Saturday morning at Oak Grove in a Gold Cup consolation game, the Warriors' final non-league contest before opening BVAL-MH play January 6 at home against Branham.