Scoring 13 goals over the course of two games, the Escalon varsity soccer boys won both of their contests this week.
They were at home, first hosting Linden on Monday, Nov. 27, taking a 3-2 victory over the Lions.
Daniel Tapia got the scoring started for the Cougars, 13 minutes in to the contest, with Linden getting the equalizer at the 26-minute mark. The teams went to the half at 1-1.
“In the second half, nine minutes in, Guillermo Alvarez scored a goal with an assist from Jose Mendez,” said head coach Paul Silva. “With five minutes left, Linden scored to tie it.”
The Cougars, however, turned a free kick opportunity into the eventual game winner.
“In the last minute we drew a free kick, we got the ball in and it bounced around, Hector Rodriguez got to the ball and he had absolutely no angle but he hit it so hard, so square, he put it in clean, he found the corner of the net,” Silva explained.
The game-winner literally came on the final shot of the game, giving the Cougars the thrilling 3-2 victory.
Oscar Gonzalez had five saves in net.
“Linden is a good opponent,” Silva said. “It was not our cleanest performance but the effort was good, we created a lot of chances.”
Wednesday, hosting Argonaut, the Cougars pummeled the visitors in a 10-0 victory.
“The last couple of years we’ve had our way with them,” noted Silva. “They also have a small team, it’s hard to play with just a couple of subs.”
Up 8-0 at the half, the host Cougars pulled back on the scoring in the second half but still took the easy win.
Alvarez had six goals on the afternoon, including three goals in the first seven minutes of the contest. Silva said he sat Alvarez down after that point, keeping him on the bench until late in the first half. When he went back in, Alvarez added two more scores in the last two minutes of the first half.
“Hector Rodriguez had two goals and four assists,” added Silva. “Jonathan Valeriano had a goal, Jose Mendez had a goal, Armando Gonzalez had an assist.
Escalon’s varsity squad features four captains this season, Silva said, with Guillermo Alvarez, Daniel Galvan, Hector Rodriguez and Armando Gonzalez earning that honor.
The team will be busy with their preseason schedule this week; they were scheduled to travel to Calaveras for a Tuesday, Dec. 5 contest after The Times went to press and then will play in the Ripon Christian Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8 and 9.
