Prep Roundup: Sept. 17

September 17, 2013

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BOYS WATER POLO
Higgenbotham leads Cougars to victory
Christopher found itself trailing league opponent Robert Louis Stevenson 6-2 at halftime Monday — then Matthew Higgenbotham fought back.
Higgenbothan pumped in four goals in the third period, giving the Cougars a boost when they needed it most. CHS went on to top R.L. Stevenson 12-9 in overtime to improve to 4-1 on the year.
Higgenbotham scored seven goals on 17 attempts — a CHS record for attempts in one game — and had three steals and an assist in the game.
“While stressing a balanced attack, there is no denying the shooting skill and all around play of Matt Higgenbotham,” Cougars coach Paul Wells said.
The Cougars defense allowed only three shots on goal from Stevenson in the two three-minute OT periods. The offense scored three on 11 shots from six different CHS players.
“If any word describes the Cougar varsity water polo team this year its character,” CHS coach Paul Wells said. “Realizing they were sluggish in the first half, the leaders took charge and pulled them into the game in the third quarter.”
Higgenbotham’s four goals in the third in addition to Gordy Papalias’ single gave the Cougars a 7-6 lead heading into the fourth. Tied at 8-8 with 3:24 to go in the fourth quarter, R.L. Stevenson went ahead 9-8 with 2:23 left in the game. Senior Jamie Walling answered, scoring on a cross cage backhand shot with 40 seconds remaining to tie the game at 9-9 and send it into OT.
Goalie Connor McConkie continues stopped 22 shots out of 31 attempts. McConkie sports an impressive 7.14 goals against average so far this season.
The Cougars will be back in the water at 5 p.m. tonight to face Harbor High School in Aptos.
The JV squad was also victorious, defeating Stevenson’s JV 9-6 to maintain a perfect 3-0 record on the season. Jesse Calderson and Max Deliz both netted three goals in the game for Christopher.
The JV squad face off against Harbor tonight in Aptos.
FIELD HOCKEY
Mustangs top Del Mar
Emma Leach, Katrina Carter and Lilybeth Mendoza proved to be a triple threat for Gilroy Monday.
Carter had two goals and Leach had one while Mendoza had two assists in the Mustangs 4-1 win at Del Mar. The win improved Gilroy to 3-0 on the season.
Carter scored a goal assisted by Mendoza in the first half and an unassisted goal in the second. Leach scored unassisted in the first and freshman Emily Boykin scored the other assisted by both Mendoza and Carter in the second.
Gilroy is back in action at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday when it hosts Sobrato.
VOLLEYBALL

Cougars win thriller at Mount Madonna

The Christopher High volleyball team dropped its first set Monday against Mount Madonna, but fired back in the next four.

The Cougars (3-1) topped Mount Madonna 3-2 on the road in a nailbitting 15-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-21, 15-13 victory.

Joy Kirkwood was the leading server for the Cougars, racking up 15 service points in the game. Cheyanna Dela Merced picked up 42 assists.

The team played with a tremendous amount of heart tonight,” Cougars coach Brian Calimpong said. “We didnt always have our best stuff but when push came to shove they showed how tough of competitors that they are. …I don’t think there was one standout star this evening but more of a team win — which in my book are the best kind.”

The Cougars will play at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Santa Catalina.

Mustangs fall to Soledad
The Gilroy volleyball team was swept by Soledad Monday.
The Mustangs lost 3-0 by a score of 19-25, 15-25, 15-25 to drop to 1-1 on the season.
The JV squad was also swept 23-25, 18-25, 9-15.
The Mustangs are back in action tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Pioneer.