A disappointing 1-1 home draw Thursday night for the Los Altos boys soccer team left the Eagles with little time to dwell on the result in their fight to finish near the top of the league.
“The main thing is they learn from this game, and they go onto the next game,” Los Altos head coach Roberto Magellan said. “We got a point today, and we feel like we lost two instead of getting one.”
Gunn (4-3-2) is near the bottom rung of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division but secured a draw thanks to a penalty in the dying moments of the first half and holding the Los Altos attack in check.
“I don’t think we started the game well, not only mentally but tactically,” Magellan said. “We were just passing the ball too much in the back and not attacking their goal, which gave them confidence and kept them in the game.”
About half the usual Los Altos starters didn’t play because the team will play three games in a week. Despite the slow start, the scoreline reflected well for Los Altos in the first half, with striker Nikhil Morales scoring a deft chip from about 10 yards out with seven minutes left in the first half. Sophomore Jack Walton provided the assist. Morales, a substitute, made an immediate impact, including getting a shot on target 30 seconds before his goal. The senior has three goals and four assists this year for the team and also created another chance with 31 minutes left in the second that required a one-on-one save from the Gunn keeper.
“He seems to have taken the responsibility for scoring the goals,” Magellan said of Morales. “He’s been scoring goals, and he is that center forward, that number nine, that every team desires to have, and we are lucky to have him.”
Los Altos (4-4-2) could have lost the game after giving away a second penalty at the end of the second half for a foul in the box trying to stop a transition counterattack, but goalkeeper and senior captain Carson Gamble guessed correctly and was able to save a low shot to his right side.
Despite the draw, Magellan said the team’s goal remains to finish first or second in the league to get into the Central Coast Section playoffs. While Mountain View has four league wins and is in first place, Santa Clara and Fremont remain within striking distance for the Eagles.
Los Altos is now 1-1-2 in league play. The Eagles finished the game with 11 total shots, with six on target. Gunn had nine shots, with four on goal.
