Quick attack stuns Taylor in Apache win

GONZALES — The Apaches had a game plan coming into this game against Taylor Ducks who were the district runner-ups last season.

Attack fast, score fast.

After 16 minutes of game play the score was 4-0 and the Ducks were left stunned and frustrated as Gonzales finished the game with a 6-3 win to move to 2-0 in district.

“We didn’t let them get situated,” Gonzales head coach Greg Ramirez said. “We knew how fast they were so had to get the quick attack on them before they started scoring on us. That was the whole plan.”

The Ducks’ tried to use their quickness early on, getting deep into the Apaches’ defensive side of the field. But that left their midfield open for attack, something Ramirez and the Apaches noticed they could exploit early on. In the second minute they did just that as Santiago Escoto was found in the box scoring the first of many Apache goals.

Just four minutes later Escoto again broke through, passing the ball to John Bashaw near the right side of the field. Bashaw then shot across the goalie toward the left of the net to get another goal for Gonzales. Even as the Ducks tried to answer being down 0-2, the Apaches again struck, this time in the 15th minute where Fabian Cardoza was out wide, getting a pass in to an open Omar Velazquez who finished with the goal to put Gonzales up 3-0. Then in the 16th, Escoto used his ball-handling skills to get in the box, fool a defender, then shoot inside the left post to give the Apaches the 4-0 lead.

“[Taylor was] leaving a big gap in the middle and we knew that,” Ramirez admitted.

As things settled down a bit, the Apaches continued to attack, though Taylor’s keeper had some key saves to keep the score at 4-0. But then in the 26th minute, Rogelio Sanchez threw in the ball to José Flores who crossed it in the box, finding the head of Bashaw. The ball bounced around and then Escoto completed his hat trick with a bicycle-kick-like shot that put the Apaches up 5-0.

A few minutes later, Taylor took advantage of a mistake by the Gonzales’ defense, getting an easy goal to cut the lead to 5-1. Late in the half, Flores had a free kick near midfield where he launched it to the box. Sanchez ran in, headed the ball into the goal for what would be the Apaches final score of the night as they went up 6-1 to end the half.

“Santiago [Escoto] had a real good game,” Ramirez said. “Rogelio [Sanchez] had a real good game too. Also John Bashaw, José Flores and Fabian Cardoza. They all had pretty good games today.”

Taylor adjusted to the Apaches’ initial formation, as Ramirez suspected, scoring two goals in the second half and leaving the home squad goalless. But the cushion was enough for Gonzales to win the game, moving them to 2-0 in district.

“It’s totally [a big win],” Ramirez remarked after beating last year’s runner-ups. “Now the boys’ soccer team is 2-0 in district.”

Even then the Apaches still have work to do according to the coach.

“Our passing still needs to come up more,” he noted. “Passing and receiving, that’s going to be the key for us and getting our ‘three amigos’ in the front open.”

The Apaches look for their third straight as they travel to La Grange to take on the Leopards, with kickoff scheduled at 7:15 p.m.