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Above: Ben Hansen makes save
VC ties
Gunn, again. (Photos from game)
Valley Christian - 0, Gunn- 0
In what might end up
being one of the best played matches in recent VC history, the Warriors
tied Gunn 0-0 on Saturday. This would mark the second time that VC has
tied Gunn in a row, last year was 1-1. The second game of the
Homestead Christmas Cup for VC showed many positives coupled with some
definite areas of improvement.
As the game began, the
Warriors pressured the Gunn defense. Jeff
Coggan created a breakaway for himself in the 5th minute, but a
great save kept the score tied. Moments later, the Warriors had several
great chances. Chase Harrell
received a ball from Coggan and hit a left footed shot off the crossbar.
Continued pressure helped the Warriors dominate the first half.
The second half had
different ideas in mind. Gunn turned it up a notch and put constant
pressure on the VC defense. Outstanding play from Chris McElhatton,
Garrett Ruiz, Cole
Bales and Ryan Corry kept Gunn at bay.
Easily the best
performer on the day, VC star keeper Ben
Hansen made save after save of the difficult variety to keep the
clean sheet. One day after Ryan Corry and Hansen helped the VC football
team win their 3rd straight CCS title, Ben would help his soccer team
shutout one of the CCS's best teams. On at least three occasions,
free headers were thwarted by Hansen and his unreal reflexes.
Overall, a back and
forth game...and one of the most exciting games this season.
Coach Basanese commented, "This
was another performance full of heart from our guys. This is a good
team, but we have a chance to be great if we keep at it. We played a
very good Gunn side today, perhaps one of the best I've seen player by
player. They are big, strong, and surprisingly skillful. It's nice to
tie a team like that and not feel like you got away with one. We
played those guys tough and probably should've had 3 goals today."
The Warriors, who were
nearly at full strength today for the first time all season, will face
Los Gatos on Monday. A win will possibly put them through to the
next round.
Following the VC game, Santa Cruz defeated Los Gatos.
vcsoccer.com man of the match: Ben Hansen
| Gunn |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Valley Christian |
0 |
0 |
0 |
VC Starting Lineup: Hansen, Corry, Ruiz, McElhatton,
Bales, Stryker, Osuna, Keeling, Coggan, Zambataro, Ch. Harrell
Weather: Partly cloudy 68 degrees. |
