MORGAN HILL – With four of its senior starters absent Saturday, the Gilroy girls water polo team nearly stole one from San Benito before losing 7-6.
After dropping a match to Live Oak Thursday, the Mustangs were playing in the third-place game at the TCAL tournament.
The entire game was a war.
With most of the starting lineup missing, GHS head coach Andy Been had to improvise using junior varsity players to fill in the gaps.
Two of the seniors returned in the fourth quarter, but were unable to change the outcome.
“We held in there,” Been said. “We worked on our defense and worked on dropping players.”
While the Haybalers took an early lead, they relinquished it several times. By the fourth period, they were nursing a one-point advantage.
The Mustangs quickly scored two goals and appeared to be on their way to the upset. But the Balers wouldn’t go down quietly.
With the game winding down, Hollister regained the lead on a controversial call. With the score tied, Hollister took a shot on the goal which deflected off the goalie and spun just on the line of the cage. After a few seconds, the official ruled the ball crossed the plain, giving the Balers the lead and the win.
Been was not pleased with the call, saying the ball never completely crossed the line for the goal.
“As far as I am concerned,” he said, “this game ended in a tie.”
The game could have been worse for the lady Mustangs with the Balers taking nearly 30 shots on goal.
Leading the scoring for the Mustangs was Senior Lauryn Rossi led GHS with four goals, while freshman Jenny Ailes added two, including the goal that gave Gilroy the lead in the fourth period.
Highs and lows for boys’ polo
They won their final game by the widest of margins.
They lost out on a CCS bid by the narrowest of margins.
On Saturday at Live Oak High, the Gilroy boys’ water polo team wiped out Monterey, 20-1, in the sixth-place game of the TCAL tournament.
On Sunday, though, the Mustangs (17-7) found out the best season in school history would not result in a trip to the Central Coast Section tournament.
At-large spots to CCS are determined by a detailed point system based on a quality of wins. The last seed went to Serra High, which totaled 40.5 points. Gilroy (40) fell a tantalizing half-point short.
“It’s the closest we’ve ever been,” GHS head coach Tom Clark said.
Hollister missed out as well, with only Live Oak and Salinas set to represent the league.
While Clark said it was only natural to look back at a few of the Mustangs’ close losses, he also said his players “can’t be unhappy” with the team’s season.
“It’s the best they’ve ever had,” Clark said. “Yeah, our goal was CCS and to come a half-point short is tough to swallow.
“But overall, I think we really opened some eyes.”
– Brett Edgerton contributed to this report
