In the midst of the Homestead Christmas Cup, the Watsonville Wildcatz (3-0-0) took on an early lead and continued dominating, eventually emerging with a 3-0 victory over the Los Altos Eagles (2-1-0) Saturday in Cupertino.
Watsonville started quickly. In just under 10 minutes, junior forward Alex Cibrian scored two goals for the Wildacatz.
“During the first 20 minutes we played very well, and we did what we wanted to do,” Watsonville coach Roland Hedgpeth said. “Our forwards did their jobs of getting to the ball quickly, so we were able to score. We put a lot of pressure on (the Eagles) right away.”
Los Altos coach Vilmar Marques believes his team didn’t come out with their 'A' game in the first half. “The first 10 to 15 minutes determined what happened in the rest of the half,” he said. “When (Watsonville) scored the first goal, it was okay, but after the second goal, it took us a long time to get back into the game.”
The Eagles played better defensively in the second half and attempted more shots, with junior Hugo Rojas-Garcia, senior Luis Melo and senior William Crameri firing away.
“I think we did a much better job in the second half. Our subs came in and did a great job,” Marques said. “We changed the way we played, from a 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 formation, and I think the adjustment helped us.”
But the Eagles could not find the net. Later in the half, Eagles senior Fernando Farias was given a free kick right in front of the Watsonville goal, but the opportunity to score was blocked by a wall of Watsonville players.
Watsonville took advantage of a free kick late in the half, with Daniel Costa tallying.
“Cibrian did really well, and our two mid-defenders, Jesse Figueroa and Daniel Costa, also had great performances,” Hedgpeth said. “We just need to make sure we are a little bit more solid defensively. (Los Altos) got around our fullbacks on the outside, and we usually don’t want that to happen.”
Cibrian thought his team played well from start to finish and he personally had a better performance. “Last time I didn’t do that well, so my performance at this game was better,” he said. “My goals for the next game are to win again and score more.”
The Eagles take on the Menlo Knights Dec. 12 on their home field, while the Wildcatz face the Salinas Cowboys at home as well.
According to Marques, his team needs to translate their possessions to shots on goals and eventually to goals to be successful.
“We have a lot of possession, but we’ve got to make the transition in the offensive third,” he said. “We need to be more objective in the offensive third. Otherwise, our possession isn’t going to help as much to win games.”
