El Capitan uses second-half comeback to defeat Golden Valley, remain unbeaten in CCC
El Capitan sophomore Abigail Hratchian didn’t have much time to think. There wasn’t time to be nervous.
The Gauchos midfielder had an open shot from just outside the penalty box in the 78th minute and fired. Hratchian’s shot whizzed past Golden Valley goalie Vikki Valenzuela into the left corner of the net and Hratchian was mobbed by her teammates.
El Capitan celebrated a crucial 2-1 win over the Cougars in a battle of two of the top teams in the Central California Conference on Friday afternoon at El Capitan High School.
“I just saw the ball and the goal and shot it,” Hratchian said.
It was Hratchian’s first goal of the season.
“It was a sense of relief,” Hratchian said to see the ball go in the net.
The victory puts El Capitan (6-2 overall, 6-0 CCC) in the driver’s seat midway through the CCC season. The Gauchos are all alone atop the CCC standings with 18 points.
Golden Valley (3-1-2, 3-1-1 CCC) is in second place with 10 points.
The two programs have been building a rivalry in recent years. Golden Valley has won back-to-back CCC championships with El Capitan finishing in second place both years.
“It seems like the games against Golden Valley always matter,” said El Capitan coach Jose Duran. “Ever since they realigned the league it’s been Golden Valley and El Cap, it always comes down to those games. We always look forward to playing difficult teams and they are a difficult team. They’ve always played good soccer.”
The Cougars played short-handed on Friday with two key contributors in forwards Gabriela Prado and Bella Rodriguez sidelined due to COVID protocols.
“They both bring speed on top for us,” said Golden Valley coach Ashley Faraone.
Despite two of their offensive weapons out the Cougars took a 1-0 lead into the half after an early goal from senior Jennavy Villegas.
The Gauchos responded 10 minutes into the second half when freshman Kimberly Roman deposited a rebound into the net to tie the match 1-1.
The Gauchos kept the pressure on the Cougars throughout the second half before Hratchian finally gave El Capitan the lead with just 2 minutes left on the clock.
“We knew we could have them if we kept the pressure on them,” Duran said.
Faraone says she still feels good about her team and can’t wait for the Gauchos to come to Veterans Stadium.
“It’s always tough matches with them,” she said. “I’m sure it will be us coming down to the end.”
