GHS field hockey team plays in fifth overtime game

Overtime has been no stranger to the Gilroy High field hockey team this season.

And the Mustangs and Saratgoa High had been there before – last month when the two squads played to a 1-1 draw.

On Monday, the visiting Falcons and the Mustangs played to another tie, this time a scoreless 0-0 deadlock after 67 minutes of field hockey wasn’t enough to decide a winner in the Mount Hamilton Division matchup.

“We tried a new lineup tonight because we were not happy with our inability to score,” GHS head coach Adam Gemar said. “We probably possessed about 70 percent. They all rose to the occasion but we ended up not scoring at all.”

The Mustangs (4-1-4 in division) and the Falcons are third and fourth, respectively, in the standings, so the outcome wasn’t much of a surprise to Gemar.

“You’d expect a game like that with these two teams,” he said.

The Mustangs host the first place Mitty Monarchs on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY

The GHS cross country teams dropped a pair of meets on a modified 2.5-mile course at Christmas Hill Park on Monday.

Despite Savannah Silacci (17:10) and Athena Alarcon (17:32) finishing first and second, respectively, the girls were narrowly defeated 38-41 by Alisal and 28-31 by Salinas.

For the boys, GHS lost 17-41 to Alisal and 20-46 to Salinas. Humberto Gaeta was the first across for GHS with a  14:57, followed by Ryan Swenor (15:04) and Enrique Villanueva (15:44.)

Despite the overall outcome, coach Cathy Silva was optimistic with the times the athletes produced.

“The good news is that we are seeing improvements with the kids,” she said. “They are working very hard in practice and you can;t ask for much more than that.”

The Mustangs have 10 days to prepare for the Tri-County Athletic League finals, which are slated for Oct. 18 at Toro Park in Salinas – a historically successful spot for Mustangs’ cross country.

“It’s a good place to finish up,” Silva said. “They will be pumped. I have all the faith in these kids.”

GOLF

Though scores have been dropping, the Gilroy High girls golf team dropped a pair of league matches in the past five days.

The Mustangs were defeated by Watsonville 185-225 last Thursday despite Cierra Montoya-Vladez and Melissa Peterson each carding team-low 52. Peterson’s previous best was a 71.

On Monday, the Mustangs hosted Salinas High. Shawnte Garcia fired a season-low 48 but GHS fell short 167-22.

“Our team is getting better with every match and stroke. The girls are figuring out their rhythm at the right time,” assistant coach Daniel Valdez said.

The Mustangs have a young team with one senior (Garcia) one junior (Peterson), two sophomores (Montoya-Valdez and LaTherian Harrison) One freshman Ali Hathaway.

GHS has two more matches left this week on Wednesday and Thursday before teeing up at the league championship on October 24.

FIELD HOCKEY

The Christopher High field hockey team improved to 7-1 in the Mission Trail Athletic League with a 4-0 victory over York on Friday.

Raquel Roberts scored in the first half, and Cailin McCarry, Maddie Peterson and Roberts added three more tallies in the second half.

The Cougars continue MTAL play today against Santa Catalina at 3:30 p.m. at CHS. 

A showdown with North Salinas is scheduled for Thursday in Salinas. If the Cougars prevail in that contest, the two squads will be tied at the top of the league standings.