GILROY—Not many field hockey games end with the teams practicing corner shots on one another, but that’s the type of relationship the teams of Gilroy and Christopher have.
Since they won’t meet during the regular season, the crosstown counterparts met for a friendly, but fiery scrimmage Wednesday at Gilroy High. The intensity was high, but Christopher senior Mackenzie Holt said it was all in good fun.
“It’s really competitive because a lot of us know each other. It’s fun because we get a lot of practice in and we’re all tough on each other still, we’re not easing up, but we’re not mean to each other either,” the Cougars defender said. “We were all going so hard and all of us got so tired at the end. It’s cool how we can practice this (corners) at the end and not be rude to each other.”
The scrimmage provided practice for both squads, but also served as a measuring stick for how far they’ve come and for how much they still have to do to prepare for the season.
The Christopher defense held tough for 20 of the scrimmage’s 25-minute first half, but then gave up four goals almost back-to-back. Christopher coach Lia Peterson said this indicates her team needs to work on more conditioning as well as to making the adjustment to playing on turf.
“Our girls really played strong and this is what they’re doing it for,” Peterson said. “The league that Gilroy plays in is a lot stronger than what we play in, so this is why we’re here is to just get a strong team going. …They’re getting it, they’re gelling and we’re figuring out who our strong players are and where they go.”
For Gilroy, coach Adam Gemar said he was nervous how the team chemistry would be impacted due to the mix of veteran and rookie players, but once it going the team looked as if it had played together for years. The Mustangs’ veterans—Katrina Carter and Tayler Silacci—looked stronger than ever and Gemar said he was also impressed by the play of Morgan Rodgers, Ellie Sausen and Maddy Cox, who displayed strong movement despite missing most of the summer practices.
“I was a little sore, but it was fun though,” Cox said. “A lot of us were pumped for this game because we know a lot of the players. It’s kind of like a rivalry.”
Having not worked much on defense, the Mustangs had no problem keeping the ball out of their zone. Carter took control on offense, picking the ball away from anyone she could as she powered down the field passed Cougar defenders.
“The best defense right now is our offense,” Gemar said. “We’ll end up playing a little higher caliber teams with Mitty and St. Francis, so that’s who we’ve got to prepare for so then everybody falls into line. The back line and the D, the forward line and just everybody playing D—especially teamwork D—is key.”
Holt and Erin Mank were two of the Christopher defenders ready to greet Carter and the Mustangs on their end of the field and displayed fearlessness when being met head on. Holt, who also plays softball, said she fear doesn’t factor into her game now, instead she just keeps her stick down and goes for the ball as hard as she can.
“She (Holt) does not back down,” Peterson said. “I’ve got some good softball players out here that they’re just used to getting hit, I think. … Erin apparently eats, sleeps and breathes field hockey at the moment. When you find girls who love it that much, you can see it and it’s fun to watch.”
While Gilroy goalie Jackie Jauregui didn’t see much action, she did make a few big stops from Cougar breakaway attempts. On the other end of the field, time in the net was split between newly minted varsity netminder Bailey Howard and veteran Brook Loesch, who both had stellar diving saves.
“They both (Howard and Brook Loesch) got quite the workouts today,” Peterson said. “The good news is that both of them really love those hard hockey balls coming at them, they enjoy that. They did a really good job and I’d save they saved a whole lot more than went in.”
When it was all said and done, players from both teams slapped hands, joked and laughed with one another. The next time they meet could very well be in the Central Coast Section playoffs. The Cougars and Mustangs will have to get through the regular season first, however.
Christopher opens play at 3:30 p.m. today at Leland, while Gilroy will play in the Varsity Jamboree at Saratoga Saturday before hosting North Salinas at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11.
