GILROY—This time last year, Gilroy field hockey coach Adam Gemar was scratching his head and wondering how he was going to make it through the season with only 13 girls. When the Central Coast Section mandatory dead period ended on Aug. 15, the Mustangs saw between 30 and 35 girls turn out for practice. What a difference a year can make.
Even with its smaller squad the Mustangs had a stellar season. They made it to the CCS semifinals only to narrowly lose to powerhouse Archbishop Mitty 1-0. Gilroy finished 15-4-2 overall—9-3-2 in the Mount Hamilton Division A League—had three players earn All-CCS postseason honors and five named All-League.
Two of the three All-CCS players are returning for Gilroy. Katrina ‘KC’ Carter earned First Team All-CCS and All-League, posing a threat any time she was on the field. She will be joined by Tayler Silacci—Second Team All-CCS and All-League—who’s speed and stick handling made her a force to be reckoned with. The pair have kept their skills sharp in the offseason, both having played with club teams. For the second year in a row, Carter played at the national level with the Team USA Futures Elite squad.
The Gilroy defense will have some piece of mind as netminder Jackie Jauregui returns after earning Second Team All-League honors last season. Morgan Rogers, who rejoined the team late due to an injury, looked promising in the playoffs and has been working hard in the offseason to be strong from the start, Gemar said.
In addition to the veterans, the Mustangs packed a punch with its stellar freshman class. Breakout stars Maddy Cox, Emily Boykin, Carli Colyer and Ellie Sausen will all return for their sophomore campaigns. Gilroy only lost three seniors, one of them being First Team All-CCS and All-League honoree Emma Leach who is playing at the University of Pacific this season. But even with such a key piece gone, Gemar said he’s cautiously optimistic.
“Hopefully the strength of the new seniors can lead us through,” Gemar said. “Of course I want to build off last year. It was almost a fluke, in my opinion, that they did so well. I don’t want to jinx us by saying ‘Yeah we’re going to go all the way’ because every year is different. We have to see what the other teams have to offer as well.”
Adding to the optimism is the around 10 freshman who turned out to try their hands at field hockey. Most years Gemar said he has to devote a lot of time teaching the rookies the basics—stick handling, fundamentals, ect.—but this year is shaping up differently.
“The new kids were just playing hockey,” Gemar said. “There’s always a couple weeks of a learning curve. I thought the incoming freshman looked good—all of them. I was like ‘You guys sure you didn’t play hockey before? You’re doing all the right stuff.’ After a couple weeks of experience it’ll be awesome to see where they end up.”
Gilroy’s season officially begins at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11 when it hosts North Salinas, but will be tested beforehand with a scrimmage against Christopher at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 3 at home. Gemar said his squad is looking forward to traveling to Davis for the first time for its game at 4 p.m. Sept. 19 and to playing its perennial rivals such as Mitty and St. Francis during the season.
For anyone still interested in playing field hockey this season, Gemar said it’s not too late. Contact him at ag****@ya***.com or find him around the Gilroy High campus for more information.
Gilroy will host Christopher at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 3 for a scrimmage.
The Mustangs will officially begin their season at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 11 when it hosts North Salinas.
Take a look at what the Christopher Cougars have in store here.
