Banuelas scores in 1-0 win over Vikings; GHS sticks take first
ever T-CAL title
GILROY – With their first Tri-County Athletic League title wrapped up before the start of Thursday’s regular-season finale against North Salinas, the Lady Mustang stickhandlers got a chance to be the spoilers.
The Lady Vikings needed a win to take second place over RLS and get the other CCS berth. Gilroy, however, dashed those hopes with a 1-0 home victory to complete the season at 10-1-1.
“It feels pretty amazing. It wasn’t just one person. It was the whole team – which made it great,” senior Jessica Sandoval said. “We had a little bit of trouble going up the middle so we worked it out on the sides and played good defense and started talking more. It feels good. We pushed them down to third.”
Senior Selida Banuelas scored the only goal of the game in the first half with senior teammate Tracy Link registering the assist. North Salinas could not answer, despite several scoring opportunities that were brushed aside by senior keeper Sam Sicard and the Gilroy defense.
“In the past, we had two to five players who were really good. This year, we had 19 players who could all play. It will be hard picking a MVP and All-League,” head coach Adam Gemar said. “Erin (Gemar) and I coached them enough. The leaders could play a game without the coaches even there.”
Gilroy – which will find out its CCS playoff seed on Tuesday after two straight seasons of just missing the cut – honored all 11 seniors after the game. The list includes leading-scorer Maday Garcia, Jackie Jarrell, Amanda Cooper, Meg Perkins, Morgan Morales, Cydney Fong, Crystal Quintanar, Sandoval, Banuelas, Sicard, and Link.
“I had a feeling this year that we were going to make CCS. I’ve always wanted to play in CCS,” Quintanar said. “If it was going to be any year, this was the year because of the seniors and because we had a really strong team.”
The Lady Mustang field hockey program has regained some of its glory – which began in the late ’70s and ran into the early ’80s under former head coach Nina Edwards. It has been 20 years since Gilroy has won a CCS championship and nearly that long since the garlic sticks have been in the playoffs.
“It feels excellent. I know the girls are really happy,” Gemar said. “It’s always been a bummer (not making CCS). We can feel for the other teams, but it was bound to happen. We finished second and third the last three, four years.”
