Varsity Boys Soccer
Bellarmine 2, Gunn 0
Date of competition: Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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The Gunn boys' soccer team saw its successful season end in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs on Tuesday following a 2-0 loss to No. 2 seed Bellarmine at Milpitas High.
The No. 11-seeded Titans (11-7-5) played the Bells (17-3-5) evenly in the first half as both teams failed to score. In the second half, Gunn coach Freddy Ferragut replaced starting senior goalie Joseph Welch with freshman Cameron McElfresh, which Ferragut has done during the season. this time, however, the switch did not pay off for the Titans.
The Bells got their first goal at 31:32 in the second half on a corner kick that first was cleared by Gunn junior defender Sterling Hancock. The Bells, however, controlled the rebound and knocked it past McElfresh. With 28:08 left in the match, Bellarmine struck again on a free kick that somehow went untouched and into the Gunn cage.
Ferragut defended his goalie platoon system simply by saying, "I have two great goalies. I don't look at them as senior and freshman, I just see the quality . . . It was just a bad day for Cameron."
Ferragut, however, didn't place all the blame on his freshman keeper.
"It's not just the goalkeeper," he said. The team just didn't play like I expected. We play a possession game; we didn't have the ball."
Gunn had one good shot in the first half wnen senior Sean Parshad ripped a shot right at the Bells' keeper, who could only knock it away. In the second half, junior Enzo Cabili was knocked down just outside the Bells' penalty box. While it looked like Cabili was inside, which would have given the Titans a penalty kick and a possible 1-0 lead, Gunn had to settle for a direct kick which bounced around before being cleared.
After Bellarmine took its 2-0 lead, Gunn stepped up its attack and had numerous attempts, but all failed. The Titans' final solid shot came with 18:40 left when Konrad Guzinski got his head on a corner and slapped it right at the Bells' keeper.
"I feel bad for the team because I know they were trying hard," Ferragut said. "I think they (the Bells) won the second balls in the midfield. They got pretty much 80 percent of them."
With Bellarmine controling the ball throughout the match, Gunn's chances were limited. The match was the final one for Gunn seniors Ryan Wood, Danny Jauregui, Kevin Zhu, Andrew Meyer, Timo Schneider, Max Kieturakis, Parshad and Welch. The Titans will return 16 players, including standout defenders like junior Scott Baer, junior Kenji Frahm, freshman Jorge Salazar and Hancock.
CCS Division I semifinals
At Milpitas High
Gunn 0 0 -- 0
Bellarmine 0 2 -- 2
Bell -- Morales (unassisted), Herr (unassisted).
Records: Gunn finishes season 11-7-5
posted by Palo Alto Online on Feb 24, 2009 at 9:23 pm
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posted by Keith Peters on Feb 25, 2009 at 10:58 am
 Gunn senior Sean Parshad (19) did his best to create some offense for the Titans in their 2-0 CCS Division I semifinal loss to Bellarmine on Tuesday. Photo by Keith Peters/Palo Alto Online. |  Gunn defender Sterling Hancock (on knees) and freshman keeper Cameron McElfresh react to Bellarmine's first goal less than 10 minutes into the second half of Tuesday's CCS Division I semifinal. Photo by Keith Peters/Palo Alto Online. |  Gunn junior Enzo Cabili (left) and senior Joseph Welch reflect the team's mood while waiting to congratulate Bellarmine on its 2-0 victory in the CCS Division I semifinals on Tuesday. Photo by Keith Peters/Palo Alto Online. |
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