Scoring nine goals in two games – while not allowing any – lifted Escalon’s varsity soccer boys to a pair of Trans-Valley League wins.
They were on their home field for both games, hosting Ripon and winning 3-0 on Tuesday, Sept. 22 and then doubling that on Mountain House, winning 6-0 on Thursday, Sept. 24.
“Tuesday we were leading at halftime, 1-0,” explained coach Paul Silva. “We scored at the 22-minute mark, Gerardo Magana got the goal with an assist from Fabricio Gallo.”
Second half scoring saw Escalon tally their first goal of the half at the 65-minute mark, Antonio Larios scoring off a Carlos Cruz assist and the final score coming there minutes later. Guillermo Alvarez scored the third goal with an assist from Damien Parocua.
“Ismael Gonzalez was in goal and he had nine saves, he was pretty active,” explained Silva. “They took quite a few shots from outside the box and they were very accurate, it kept him on his toes.”
Thursday against Mountain House, the Cougars scored early and often, the final goal resulting in a roughly 15-minute conversation between the Mountain House head coach and officials, with the coach eventually being issued a red card and the game ending with about seven minutes left to play.
The coach protested the final goal, arguing Cougar Fabricio Gallo – who headed it off a corner kick and ended up in the goal himself – impeded the Mountain House goalie. But the argument did not go over with the officials.
“It was interesting, to say the least,” admitted Silva.
Escalon scored three goals in each half. They got started early, Denis Pineda scoring on a Miguel Mendez assist just three minutes into the contest. Everardo Peralta got goal number two 20 minutes in, assisted by Alvarez, Jairo Duran capped the first half scoring with five minutes left in the half off an assist from Ulises Ramirez.
It was the Fabricio Gallo show in the second half, as the senior leader punched in all three goals. Fifty-seven minutes in, he scored off an assist from Alvarez and the two collaborated again four minutes later for a 5-0 Cougar lead. Mendez took the corner kick at the 73-minute mark that led to Gallo’s final goal and the Mountain House protest that ultimately ended the game.
Gonzalez had five saves in goal.
“We played really well,” Silva said. “We were creating a lot of opportunities with the ball. While we were struggling against Ripon, our passes weren’t connecting and there was no flow on our part, the Thursday game against Mountain House was one of our better games this season.”
Junior Varsity
Escalon High Class of 2007 alum Polo Rodriguez has returned to EHS to coach and is leading the JV soccer boys this season. They also got a pair of wins on the pitch in league play this past week, topping Ripon and Mountain House. The young Cougars played to a 4-2 win against the visiting Ripon Indians on Sept. 22 and took a 3-1 win off the field Thursday against Mountain House. Scoring for the JV boys against Ripon were Daniel Tapia (2), Hector Rodriguez and Matthew Zakel. Finding the net in the Mountain House game were Rodriguez, Mario Zurita and Ventura Martinez.
The next game for Escalon will be on Thursday, Oct. 1, a varsity contest only, against Hughson starting at 4:30 p.m.
