MOUNTAIN VIEW – In a clash of two undefeated teams, when all is
done, one team survives as the victor and the other is left to
wonder what it’s like to be in the others’ shoes.
For the second year in a row, the Gilroy High field hockey team
had its Central Coast Section championship dreams snatched from
them by rival Los Gatos (20-0-1) as the No. 5-seed Mustangs (20-1)
fell to the top-seeded Wildcats 2-0 in the semifinals Tuesday night
in Mountain View.
MOUNTAIN VIEW – In a clash of two undefeated teams, when all is done, one team survives as the victor and the other is left to wonder what it’s like to be in the others’ shoes.
For the second year in a row, the Gilroy High field hockey team had its Central Coast Section championship dreams snatched from them by rival Los Gatos (20-0-1) as the No. 5-seed Mustangs (20-1) fell to the top-seeded Wildcats 2-0 in the semifinals Tuesday night in Mountain View.
“You can’t fault them for lack of heart or lack of effort,” said head coach Adam Gemar.
Gilroy left it all out on the field, hustling to loose balls from start to finish, but the Wildcats swarming defense neutralized the Mustangs’ normally potent offense, making it difficult to get shots off in the circle.
“Where the ball was, they were all there,” Mustangs forward Katelyn Nebesnick said.
Two first-half goals by the Wildcats’ Katelyn Denim was all the cushion the physical and speedy Los Gatos bunch needed to secure a spot in Saturday’s final where they will meet No. 3-seed Presentation.
There was a hastened pace to the action and the intensity was felt from the turf to the stands. The two teams – although there is a mutual respect – don’t exactly like one another displayed high-quality hockey, as expected from two of the elite teams in the CCS.
“Anytime we had any breaks there was always a girl on them hammering them,” Gemar said.
It soon became evident, as the two teams settled in after a back-and-forth opening five minutes that the Wildcats were not going to allow the Mustangs to use their crafty passing to create offensive chances. And each time a Gilroy offering seemed to be perfect for its destination there was a pesky defender there with her stick down to detour its course.
“They were all (in the middle) and we knew that,” said senior captain Elise Ogle. “In practice we worked on our outside passes, but we weren’t fast enough.”
With the exception of a few offensive surges, the first thirty minutes belonged to the Wildcats. Denim’s first tally came less than eight minutes into the contest.
A dangerous entry pass trickled past the Gilroy net, ticking off of a Mustang defender for a long corner. Moments later Denim, who slipped behind the defense, took a pass and gently directed it into the net.
After Denim scored again six minutes later, the Mustangs began to get some push into the offensive zone where some passes began to connect.
The Mustangs earned a short corner try, but Dani Hemeon’s shot was deflected high over the net. Hemeon, who had a combined four goals in the previous two games, was contained for much of the game in the middle of the field.
On the ensuing inbound play, Ogle sent a pass into the circle for Emily Costa who’s shot was moved aside.
“If we would’ve passed a little bit better, we may have done better,” Gemar said. “Once we settled down we were able to. I think we only had two or three corners. It would have been good to get a couple more.”
The Mustangs’ urgency increased tenfold in the second half knowing what was at stake. Thirteen minutes in, Nebesnick set up the first of three breakaway chances in the half. The initial run went to Aubrey Young but an alert Wildcats’ goalie met Young in the middle of the circle to disrupt the rhythm of the play and the ball was cleared before Young could manage a shot on goal.
Nebesnick found herself one-on-one with the goalie less than two minutes later, as the goalie charged out to the top of the circle, colliding with Nebesnick to thwart the charge.
“We had three breakaways and it would have been nice to score on one of them,” Gemar said.
In a season that is ultimately defined in the record books as one that ended in the semifinals, the real definition is found within the girls’ hearts.
“This is the best team I have ever been a part of, hands down” Nebesnick said, “The girls aren’t friends, not teammates; they are sisters, family.”
