Gilroy High sticks set to steal St. Francis’ thunder
GILROY – The Lady Mustang stickhandlers are in it to win it, according to tri-captains Sam Sicard, Jessica Sandoval and Elena Ramirez.
It has been 20 years since the Gilroy High field hockey team won the CCS Championship – but this year’s veteran unit is poised for an opening upset of No. 2 seed Saint Francis.
“They’re definitely a good team, but we’re a good team, too,” said Sicard, the senior netminder. “We have to rise up to the challenge.”
The challenge awaits Saturday at Los Gatos High School as the No. 5 seed Lady Mustangs take the field at 11:45 a.m.
“We can definitely hang with them,” said Sandoval, standing next to the two other captains during Thursday’s practice.
“Of course, we’re excited because everyone worked so hard this year. We proved ourselves to everybody,” Ramirez added. “Gilroy is kinda the underdog team, but this year we’re the big dogs.”
Gilroy (15-2-1) hopes to bite in the quarterfinal match-up against the runners-up in the Blossom Hill ‘A’ League. St. Francis finished with a 14-2 overall record behind league-champ and top seed Los Gatos (15-1-1) – which will play against No. 6 Westmont (13-1-1) at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
“We’ve seen them play in other tournaments,” Sandoval said. “There’s always room for improvement on both sides, but I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
The Lady Mustangs just missed the CCS Playoffs the last two seasons under co-head coaches Adam and Erin Gemar – who have announced that a Lady Mustang rooter bus will be leaving Gilroy High on Saturday at 10:15 a.m. Students – who will need a permission slip unless their accompanied by parents – are encouraged to come support their hometown team by showing up at 10 a.m. and paying for the $2 rooter bus ride.
“We’re going to fill the rooter bus and we’ve invited all JV players to ride on the varsity bus if they want to join us,” Erin Gemar said. “We’re pretty excited we have to play St. Francis. We watched them play at a tournament. We’ve got some videos. We’re getting prepared for them.”
It will be the first meeting between the first-ever T-CAL Champions and the private power, but the Lady Mustangs played in the same Willow Glenn Jamboree early in the season. Gilroy also dropped a 6-1 decision to powerhouse Los Gatos in a non-league affair.
“We’ve never competed against them on the field. St. Francis is a team that is respected by all teams this region. Between them and Los Gatos, they’ve dominated the CCS Playoffs the past several years,” Erin Gemar said. “In the past, we went as a team to watch them just for inspiration.”
This time, the Lady Mustangs are suiting up to do battle on at a neutral site.
“I love that field. It’s an awesome field,” said Sicard of Los Gatos. “We have the greatest fan base at Gilroy High. They’re always out here cheering for us. They’ll definitely be at Los Gatos.”
Gilroy pulled up five players from the Coach Armando Padilla’s undefeated junior varsity squad – including senior goalie Michelle Glenn, juniors Katherine Kwong and Danielle Roberts, and freshmen Kelly Perkins and Linsey Kwong. The Lady Mustangs will be without freshman Stephanie Glenn – who was up on varsity all season, but broke her ankle playing club soccer.
The 24-player roster also includes seniors Amanda Cooper, Maday Garcia, Tracy Link, Selida Banuelas, Jackie Jarrell, Meg Perkins, Crystal Quintanar, Sandoval, Sicard, Morgan Morales, and Cydney Fong – who are preparing to extend their final season deep into the CCS Playoffs.
“I think any team is beatable. Every team has their best days and worst days. Every team and every individual is improving,” Erin Gemar said. “We’re definitely the underdogs, but we have a soft spot for the underdog and I think Gilroy definitely shouldn’t be taken lightly in the playoffs.”
PRESENT STICKS REIGN: In Saturday’s alumni game, this year’s team topped the alumni squad by a 4-2 margin to even the series at two wins apiece.
LEARN HOCKEY: The 60 Minutes Field Hockey Club for fifth through eighth graders started up and is still welcoming participants at Gilroy High on Mondays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
