When Gilroy and Christopher meet in field hockey, it is a fun gathering of friends and neighbors and a reunion of players who star for the same Club field hockey team, Infinity of Gilroy. The match is laced with the competitive intensity of the two crosstown schools.
These contests produce some of the best field hockey in the entire Central Coast Section, as both schools have been in the top tier in the CCS for more than a decade. There is elite play featuring hard-working and skilled players throughout both lineups. Passes connect, ball control is superb, defensive talents hold the fort, steal the ball and contest shots.
“It’s the crosstown rivalry,” Gilroy’s Kiara Prophet said. “It’s always a great game.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 27 at Gilroy, Christopher scored once in each half on the way to a 2-0 victory. The decision kept the Cougars unbeaten in league play at 7-0, giving them a two-game margin over the second place Mustangs, and kept them on track for their first league title since 2023. Three days later, a rout of Leland moved them to 8-0.
“The game was very important,” Christopher’s Colette Boyd said. “We really showed up. I loved our team unity. Everyone connected. We tried to suffocate the middle. And now we’re tops in our league.”
Christopher toughened itself with a fierce pre-season schedule. In league play, the 8-0 Cougars have scored 44 goals and yielded just one. Their last seven victories have been shutouts, totaling an amazing 420 minutes without allowing a score.
In that roll, CHS beat Leigh 3-1, Gilroy 2-0, Leland 9-0, Willow Glen 5-0 and Branham 5-0. In the second half of the double round robin, they ripped Leigh 7-0, Gilroy 2-0 and Leland 11-0. Willow Glen and Branham await.
The Mustangs slipped a couple steps back in their effort to tie their city rivals at the top of the Blossom Valley Athletic League, Mt. Hamilton Division. Gilroy is in second place, two games ahead of Leigh.
Interestingly, the result evened the tally between CHS and GHS since 2021, each having won five of 12 amidst two ties.
“Our team held up a lot defensively,” Gilroy’s Hailey Moncada said. “We just weren’t able to get upfield. We struggled in the beginning of this season, but we’ve found our groove. Second place is still good.”
Gilroy also had a challenging pre-season. In league play, they began by beating Leigh 1-0, Willow Glen 3-1, Leigh 1-0 and Branham 5-0, along with a 2-0 loss to Christopher.
The second half of the league ledger shows an 8-1 win over Leland, 2-0 over Willow Glen and the second defeat to the Cougars. Matches against Branham and Leland await.
On this chilly night, the Cougars dominated play, keeping the Mustangs bottled up. For a period, Gilroy held firm. Three minutes into the second quarter, Christopher scored. Off a corner, Alex Pires passed to Ryan Hemeon, who fired a rocket just inside the left post for a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars were tough on the back line with goalkeeper Erika Toledano, along with Juliet Calederon, Emmie Mendez, Bre Hahn and others.
Christopher controlled the field with Reese Dubenko, Hemeon, Alyssa Montejano, Isabella Torres and Delilah Cortez. Pires and Boyd were strong up front. Depth came from Nora Gonsolin, Lauren Hernandez, Kailee Cryderman, Jasmine Jett, Kennedy Berry and Kimberly Hernandez.
Gilroy fought back fiercely and had more success moving the ball up field. Gabriela Gonzalez and Makayla De Castro were on the attack. The middle was led by Kiara Prophet, Moncada, Lexi Osaki, Lalita Solis, Clara Meza and Abby Gemar.
Stella Rhodas, Solis and others supported Lea Kim in goal. Depth came from Claire Vasquez, Kylie Davidson and others.
Just before the midpoint of the third quarter, Christopher scored again. A flurry of shots in a fierce attack around the goal paid off. Torres started the charge with a pass to Montejano as the Cougars crashed the net. Gilroy goalie Kim made save after save but finally Pires poked the ball in for a 2-0 lead.
“It was a really great game and it’s always very competitive with them,” Christopher’s Montejano said. “They’re our rival and from across town. Yet we’re on the same team in Club. We all know each other.”
The intense play continued but there was no more scoring.
“It took relentless pressure,” Christopher coach Dani Hemeon said. “Do whatever it takes to win the ball. It took the entire team and an organized team defense. They had to play at a high rate for the full 60 minutes.”
Christopher’s superb season has included scoring from a multitude of players. Pires has 14 goals, Boyd has 11 and Montejano has 10. Dubenko has scored nine goals and Hemeon has eight.
Gilroy has been led in the scoring parade by Osaka and Gonzalez with seven goals each. Prophet has six and DeCastro has scored five.
“We knew they would be tough,” Gilroy coach Adam Gemar said. “Their defense won the game for them. We couldn’t pass out of their press. For us, we played really well with very few mistakes. We played better than the last time we played them (a 2-0 Christopher win on Oct. 1).”
Both schools have put together spectacular records for more than a decade. Just in the post-Covid span from 2021 to present, Gilroy is 92-23-12 overall, 45-8-5 in league play. Similarly, Christopher is 88-26-4, 42-11-5 in league play.
Playoffs await. Both the Cougars and Mustangs have been among the strongest competitors in the post-season year after year.
“We have been tweaking with our lineup,” Gilroy coach Gemar said. “Our group is special and very coachable. We are really keyed in now. We’re at our best going into the playoffs.”
Brackets and schedules will be announced on Nov. 2. Playoff games begin on Nov. 7 and continue through the CCS finals on Nov. 14.
“It’s been an awesome season,” CHS coach Hemeon said. “I am most proud of all these girls. They started preparing back when last season ended. There was excellent turnout in summer participation. They were hungry for a league championship. We don’t look ahead. We focus. One at a time.”
