The Christopher High varsity field hockey team continued its hot start to of Mission Trial Athletic League play with a 4-0 victory over Monterey in sweltering conditions Tuesday in Gilroy.
Both teams had to deal with the 103-degree heat, and head coach Lia Peterson said the key for the Cougars was to keep a consistent rotation of players in an out of the game.
“We tried to keep everyone cool,” Peterson said, whose Cougars have now defeated both of the league’s playoff representatives from a season ago (North Salinas the other). “We made sure we used lots of substitutions to keep everyone fresh.”
Sherelle Butler registered a goal for the sixth straight game and was joined by Emily Hilkene, Mackenzie Holt and Melanie Tanaka in the scoring category.
Erika Velasquez was in the cage for the CHS and made plays when needed. The Cougars have been cooking up the right concoction on defense this season, allowing just five goals this season. They have scored 25.
“The girls are communicating a lot more with each other on the field,” Peterson said. “They have a better understanding of the game and of where the other is going to be.”
The Cougars (6-0-2 overall, 6-0 MTAL) will attempt to remain undefeated through the first half of league action against York on Thursday.
“The girls have a pretty good foundation under them,” Peterson added. “This year, we have four seniors who have played all four years. That’s a good base.”
Game time against York is 3:30 p.m. at CHS.
• St. Francis handed Gilroy High a 5-2 defeat Tuesday night in Mountain View – the Mustangs third straight Mount Hamilton Division loss.
The Lancers led 4-1 at halftime.
Gilroy’s game against Leland, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, is now on Monday.
WATER POLO
Led by10 goals from Kaitlin Ramirez, Christopher High topped host Harbor High 14-7 on Tuesday night in Santa Cruz.
Ramirez is now in the top-three in scoring in the Monterey Bay League Pacific Division as the Cougars improve to 5-3 in league play.
Shannon McAvoy (two), Hannah Marquez and Natalie Garcia added to the total.
Bella Marquez, who made 12 saves in the cage, moved into the top spot in the division with 145 saves on the season.
The Cougars allowed three goals in the first quarter, but just four the rest of the way.
• Foul trouble in the middle quarters set the Gilroy High boys water polo team behind the curve in an 11-7 loss to San Lorenzo Valley on Tuesday.
Joe Vanni scored for the Mustangs on their first possession of the game and the two teams were tied 1-1 after the first period. However, SLV capitalized four times on man-advantage situations to distance itself in quarters two and three. It was 4-1 at halftime and 7-2 after three periods of play.
The Mustangs did tally five goals in the final quarter, but SLV maintained its edge and answered with four to keep the space.
Garrett Pipkin led the GHS offensive charge with four goals. Daniel Fisser and Sam Mendel had one goal apiece. Goalie Tommy Cox made 12 saves.
“We played even with SLV in the first and fourth quarters but, unfortunately, got into foul trouble throughout the second quarter, which helped SLV widen their margin on us,” GHS head coach Fred Latimore said. “Our defense usually keeps us in the game, but let us down today. However, I’m very proud of our finish. We made it close at the end, which shows the character our team has.”
• An improved all around performance and one goal each from Megan Nebesnick and Katie Clark wasn’t enough in a GHS girls 18-2 loss to Santa Cruz on Tuesday.
“It was a hard played game against a strong team,” GHS head coach Travis Gamble said. “We are playing a much better second half of our season. I am extremely proud of the girls and I am looking forward to the rest of our season.”
TENNIS
Christopher High went on the road and brought back a 6-1 Monterey Bay League Pacific Division win over a young North Salinas team Tuesday.
Emily Barham, Shelby O’Hara, Nubia Juarez and Tiffany Roberts had singles victories for the Cougars. Elizabeth Levan and Jade Barrick (No. 1-doubles) and Samantha Sarabia and Karoline Velazquez (No. 3-doubles) picked up points as well. CHS withdrew from its No. 2-doubles match due to player illness.
