Alex Perrucci and the Wildcats drew to a tie with a physical Monta Vista team Saturday. Photo by lghssports.com
It was wet. It was muddy. It was physical. And after 80 hard-fought minutes, it was tied.
Los Gatos and Monta Vista made up an earlier rainout Saturday afternoon on Los Gatos’ lower field, and a late penalty kick by Brad Radonich enabled the Wildcats to salvage a 1-1 tie and remain in third place in the tough De Anza Division of the SCVAL.
There was lots of pushing and shoving, several yellow cards, and even a player ejection when a Monta Vista player was ordered off the field late in the game. Neither team could muster much offense in the first 40 minutes, with the closest thing to a goal coming when Radonich launched a long shot off the crossbar.
Earlier in the game, Alec Smoley had a breakaway but dilled his shot straight into the goalkeeper.
Monta Vista drew first blood when sophomore defender DJ Graves was called for a questionable foul just outside the penalty box. Monta Vista’s ensuing free kick just eluded the diving Marshall Finch in goal.
Los Gatos mounted several late attacks, but did not get the equalizer until the Wildcats’ Hayden Senter was mugged inside the penalty box. Radonich was called upon to take the penalty shot, and he left no doubt, drilling it past the Matador keeper.
With the win, Los Gatos improved to 3-2-2 in league play after getting off to an 0-2 start. Palo Alto leads the division with a 3-0-1 record, and Mountain View is in second place at 5-2. Los Gatos has games with both teams in the next two weeks.
Earlier in the week, Los Gatos avenged its opening-day loss to Los Altos by beating the Eagles 2-0 in another very physical match.
Early in the game, a Los Altos attacker would collide with Finch in the goal box, leaving the Los Gatos keeper on the ground for several minutes. Not only would Finch remain in the game, coach Rusty Millard said he would up playing his best game of the season.
Los Gatos had several chances to score in the first half, but each attempt just missed. Senior Ronan Hayes found Senter open on the far side, but his header would sail just wide. Minutes later, Senter broke free in the Eagle goal box, but the Los Altos keeper made the save. In the 36th minute, Alec Smoley’s one touch shot would sail just high over the cross bar.
“At half time, I preached about continuing to dictate the pace of the game,” said Millard. And his Cats did just that.
Los Gatos would rack up 10 shots in the second half, with junior Andy Heimer whipping a nice cross pass to a streaking Senter, who ripped home a one-timer for what would prove to be the game-winning goal.
Ten minutes later the two would team up again, but this time they reversed roles. Senter would break loose on the left side of the Eagles’ goal box with some fancy footwork and cross a low-driven pass to the far post where a streaking Heimer put the ball into the back of the net with a one-touch finish.
“Our goals today were beautiful,” said Millard. “They looked like our training sessions, which is very encouraging. Our offensive players created chances all day, and that hard work and persistence paid off with two highlight goals.”
Millard was also impressed with the way his team rallied around Finch after the goalkeeper was leveled early in the game.
“That says a lot about our chemistry and the bond that we have,” said Millard. “We get along so well and we spend so much time together that it’s really showing when we get challenged and face adversity.”
The Cats are back in action Tuesday when Mountain View visits Los Gatos. A win will move Los Gatos into a tie with Mountain View for second place. Los Gatos will play at Milpitas on Thursday.
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