Alisal Suffers First Loss

After beating Watsonville the night before, the Trojans came back twenty-four hours later to play another game, this time against Harbor High School of Santa Cruz.  However, the outcome wasn't the same as with Watsonville.  The Trojans came out flat in the first half and gave up an early goal when the Harbor forwards got through an otherwise stingy Alisal defense. Sweeper Augstin Martinez was left in the back alone as a Harbor forward made a nice run on a ball down the line.  Augustin failed to close in on the forward and the Harbor player struck the ball and beat Manuel Velasquez in the upper left corner of the goal.  Alisal continued to look a little flat and flustered, and they could not equalize in the first half.

The second half was a little different for the Trojans.  They came out noticabley more aggressive and had some quick and frequent shots on goal.  But once again, the Alisal defense was beat on a through ball and Harbor put the ball past Velasquez once more.  Realistically, the Harbor forwards got through the Alisal defense on very few occasions, but they were an opportune team that made the most of their chances, scoring two goals on minimal chances.  

With twenty minutes to go, the Trojans finally got on the board as Benjamin Nunez scored his third goal in three games. Unfortunately, it proved to be too little too late as Harbor stole one from the Trojans on the Trojans' home field.   

The Trojans will travel to Yerba Buena H.S. on Nov. 29, to play Woodside H.S. in a first round game of the Homestead Cup. The Trojans will follow this game with a rematch against Harbor, as they were drawn in the same group of the first round of the Homestead Cup.  The rematch will once again be played at Alisal, and we will definitely be ready to avenge our loss to them.

I was impressed with the way the boys came out for the second half and how they had fixed many of the errors that plagued our first half performance.  We still have some finishing issues and some crossing issues, but we are definitely getting better as a team.  I look forward to seeing us grown as a team.  Alisal's record is now 2-1