Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Soccer Beasts: Willow Glen's Dustin Cohen, working the ball up the field in a 2-1 win over Leigh, knocked in a penalty kick to give the Rams a 1-0 win over first-place Pioneer on Friday.
Lightning strikes again for WG
Cohen's goal lifts Rams past Pioneer
By Dick Sparrer
Who says lightning never strikes twice in the same place? It did last week for the Willow Glen boys soccer team when Dustin Cohen unleashed a little thunder from his right leg on a game-winning penalty kick against Pioneer.
It was the second time in three weeks that a Cohen penalty kick had given the Rams a 1-0 victory over a first-place team in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
He did it back on Jan. 18 against Leland, knocking the Chargers out of the lead in the division. And he did it again last Friday, dropping the Mustangs into a first-place tie with the Chargers in the Mt. Hamilton circuit.
The Rams and Chargers were locked in a scoreless tie at the half last week before Cohen was dropped in the penalty zone in the second half. His penalty kick found its way into the goal for the game's only score.
"It deflected off the goalie and went in," said Willow Glen coach Sue Parisi of Cohen's game-winning shot. "Then for the rest of the second half, we put most of the pressure on them."
"My whole team played well," said Parisi, whose squad improved to 5-4-2 in the division and to 9-6-4 for the year with the win. "My team was ready. They're in good shape right now. They've always had the skill, it's just been the mental part of the game [that's caused the Rams problems]."
The coach was pleased with the play of Saul Villatoro, and singled out sophomore stopper Nathan Tom and senior fullback Zack Loya for their performances as they "marked [Pioneer's] best guys."
The win was the fourth in five games for the Rams following a l-0 loss to Overfelt on a penalty kick. Willow Glen beat Leland 1-0 on Cohen's penalty kick, then beat Prospect 4-0, tied Santa Teresa 0-0 and edged Leigh 2-1 before beating Pioneer.
Junior sweeper Gilbert Lozoya and senior fullback Salvador Rios "have been playing wonderfully the last four or five games," said Parisi. "They've both been fantastic."
Willow Glen finishes off the league season on Feb. 6, at 3:15 p.m., at Overfelt. A win there gives the Rams a shot at third place in the division.
"We have fourth wrapped up," said Parisi. "And we're the only team in the league undefeated in the second half."
The Rams need to beat Overfelt on Wednesday, then hope for the Royals to lose to Leland on Friday to get third. The top three teams from Mt. Hamilton Division earn automatic berths in the Central Coast Section playoffs.
The tight 1-0 win over Leland started the Rams on their recent tear, and they backed that up with the 4-0 win over Santa Teresa.
Osby Gonzalez knocked in a couple of goals, one off an assist from Jairo Arreola, to lead the Rams to the win over the Rams. Cohen scored off a Lozoya assist, and Villatoro scored off a Gonzalez assist.
"He played really well," said Parisi of Villatoro. "He had a lot of breakaways. Their keeper did a very good job; otherwise we could have probably scored 10 goals."
The coach also praised the offensive performance of Gonzalez in the win.
The Rams battled Santa Teresa to a scoreless tie thanks to a strong defensive effort by Rios.
Early last week, Willow Glen fought back from a 1-0 deficit to claim a 2-1 win over Leigh.
"That was a good one," said Parisi. "We lost to them last time 1-0."
The Rams were down 1-0 when sophomore John Gibilisco knocked a goal to tie things 1-1 before intermission.
Gonzalez broke the tie when he scored off an Enrique Arreola assist in the second half.
Then Willow Glen goalkeeper Sal Palacio took over, shutting out Leigh the rest of the day.
"He did real well," said Parisi of Palacio.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
