Gorman girls soccer blanks Silverado to advance

Zack Hall

Friday, Feb. 25, 2000 | 10:12 a.m.

The Gorman High girls soccer team didn't leave anything to chance when playing Silverado in the semifinals of the county girls soccer championship. The Gaels drubbed the overmatched Skyhawks 5-0 Thursday at Durango to advance to the finals.

"We didn't play that well," said Gorman coach Victor Arbelaez. "For not playing in a week, it happens, you get sluggish. But we picked it up in the second half."

The Gaels (20-1-2) will play Cimarron-Memorial, a team they have beaten twice this season, for the county title Saturday.

The last game between the two was played last Saturday for the Sunset zone championship. The Gaels needed two overtimes to defeat the Spartans 2-1.

"They are a tough team," said Arbelaez. "We better play better than that this Saturday."

Gorman will have to play physically against the Spartans if it wants to control the game.

The Spartans like to attack, countering hard after their opponents' missed shots and sprinting downfield. That style of play accounted for two goals in Cimarron's 3-1 win over Green Valley in its semifinal match.

"They have a couple of good players up front," said Arbelaez. "That's their game, hitting up front, attack and counter. They're physical."

The Gaels outshot the Skyhawks (11-4-4) 16-7 in Thursday's match. In the 29th and 30th minutes, goals by Amber Woodward and Meghan Moreo broke the scoreless tie to make it 2-0.

Lisa Cram then scored two consecutive goals in the 37th and 45th minutes. Her first goal was a 40-foot shot that hooked between the right goalpost and Silverado goalie Mon-wei Kuo.