GILROY—The field hockey stakes have been raised this season. When Gilroy and Christopher clash this year, it’ll more than just friendly competition.
Over the offseason, the Central Coast Section redefined the leagues for field hockey, placing the both Cougars and Mustangs in the Monterey Bay League. And it’s motivating both to up their game.
The Cougars bolstered their roster with the hire of former Gilroy High and University of Iowa standout Dani Hemeon as their new head coach. Hemeon, who barely hung up her own hockey stick, said she’s been welcomed with open arms by her new squad. This year’s pride of Cougars is eager to learn and improve under her.
“They want to be better; they want to be the best,” the newly minted coach said. “They want to be competitive with Gilroy.”
Across town Hemeon’s former coach Adam Gemar is prepping the Mustangs for the new season. While Gilroy lost senior superstars Katrina Carter, Tayler Silacci, Morgan Rogers and goalie Jackie Jauregui to graduation, Gemar said his program appears to be on the rise.
For the past few years, the Mustangs have only fielded a roster of between 13 and 14 girls—which Gemar contributes to the opening of Christopher High. But this year, they’ve got 18. They include junior playmakers Ellie Sausen, Carly Coyler, Emily Boykin and Maddie Cox.
Gemar said he’s also excited over the prospect of his three freshmen—Cami Rodgers, who will wear her sister Morgan’s No. 13, Savannah Castro and Kelly Nebesnick. While mixing new and veteran players may not always work, Gemar said this group has combined to create top-notch team chemistry.
“Even if you lack in some areas, we’re moving as a team and that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “I’ve had teams that are awesome with one or two superstars, but you don’t get very far with just one or two good players. You need everybody to work well together.”
There will be plenty of familiar faces on the Cougars’ roster, too. Senior center/midfielder Erin Mank, who was last year’s Mission Trail Athletic League’s Junior of the Year, will lead the charge. Senior classmates Isabel Medina and Nikki Villanueva as well as returning junior goalie Bailey Howard will also provide veteran leadership on the field. Hemeon said the roster is further strengthed by the sophomores and juniors who have been recently promoted from JV as well as freshmen Julia Davis and Madison Moreno.
As Christopher continues to hone its basic and defensive skills, Hemeon is hoping to pass some of her own knowledge onto her Cougar cubs. She’s hoping that under her, they can achieve their goals.
“Our goals are to win the league. I feel like that’s every team’s goal but that’s a good goal to have,” Hemeon said. “It’ll be difficult, but that’s our goal.”
The Mustangs have their eyes on returning to CCS too, but Gemar knows it’ll be a tough task to complete. With their field under construction and turf time at Christopher tough to come by, the team has been practicing in the Gilroy High gym. But Gemar’s biggest concern isn’t wins and loses. It’s that the girls have fun, he said.
Christopher opens its season at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Branham. Gilroy begins at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 9 at St. Ignatius.
