Granada fans brought their cowbells to Danville Friday night, clanging them each time their Matadors scored against undefeated Monte Vista.
After the Mustangs trampled the Matadors in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the scoreboard indicated (14-8), Granada was left feeling like they could use a little more cowbell.
"They weren't able to get anything out from the goalie," Monte Vista coach Dearborn David Ramos said. "We played defense all the way from the offensive end to the defensive end, and really put pressure on them in the midfield. That helped us win tonight's game."
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Granada's Livv Gerton drew first blood to give the Matadors (8-8, 3-7 EBAL) their first and only lead of the game. The Mustangs charged back with five unanswered goals, punctuated by sophomore Paige Southmayd going top shelf over Granada goalie Allison Davis with 7 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the first half. With only 48 seconds to go in the half, senior Courtney Chew chimed in with her second goal to put the Mustangs up 8-3.
Monte Vista (15-0, 10-0) pulled further away from Granada with three goals in the first four minutes of the second half, including two just 20 seconds apart: the first was another Southmayd effort, the second was set up by nice pass from Catherine "Scooter" Doerr to junior Madison Mulford. Mulford finished with a season-high five goals.
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The Mustangs were already up by eight when freshman Megan Chiang, a converted defender playing on offense for the first time all season, found net for the second time. She was promptly mobbed by her teammates.
"I think we found a new position for you," one shouted.
"Oh yeah, she'll be back there again," Ramos said, handing Chiang the game ball.
Chiang's goal put Monte Vista up 14-5 with 7:36 to go, but the Matadors weren't ready to start waving a white flag.
Granada scored three goals in three minutes to make it interesting and attacker Gerton put in her fifth goal of the night with 4:04 left. That would be all the comeback the Matadors could muster, however. Mustangs goalie Allie Curtis, who collected six saves in the second half, shut Granada and Gerton down for the rest of the evening.
"It was a good game for the supporting cast tonight, a good team game,"Ramos said. "Everyone pitched in, everyone stepped up and made their mark."
The Mustangs will look to stay undefeated next week as they play California (10-5) and a rested Miramonte team (10-4) back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday.
Box score:
Monte Vista 14, Granada 8
Monte Vista (15-0, 10-0 EBAL) 8 6 — 14
Granada (8-8, 3-7) 3 5 — 8
Scoring: Monte Vista — Mulford 5, Chew 3, Chiang 2, Southmayd 2, James, Rodriguez. Granada — Gerton 5, Hanna, Sanck, Sunnergren.
Saves: Tucker (MV) 4, Curtis (MV) 6, Davis (GHS) 4.
