Gilroy High dominated but falls 1-0 to visiting Sarataga
Gilroy – Saratoga gave Gilroy a glimpse of what it would like to be playing field hockey in the Mt. Hamilton League.
While the Mustangs came up 1-0 losers Wednesday at Garcia-Elder Complex, they probably gained more against the Falcons of the MHL than against Mission Trail Athletic League foes they have dominated for the last several season.
“This was a big realization for us,” senior Kelly Perkins said, “that we need to work harder in practice. This showed us what we need to work on. It (the loss) wasn’t from lack of effort.”
Actually, GHS (7-3-1) dominated much of the play but was unable to cash in on eight short corner opportunities. During a scoreless first half, Laura Spellman and Amanda Spellman each got off hard shots that were close to finding the net.
And the Mustangs were matching the Falcons’ defensive intensity, led by Jaimie Silva and Perkins, who was moved to defender for the first half. Goalie Stephanie Glenn made two acrobatic saves and positioned herself to force a wide last-second shot by Saratoga (7-5). Glenn was named GHS Player of the Game for her first-half efforts (the senior gave way to Caitlyn Pieroti in the second half).
Gilroy continued the offensive pressure in the second half, but was either a split second late with passes or was beaten to the ball by the Falcons’ defenders. And the Mustangs’ defense remained solid.
“Overall, Gilroy has a lot more skills than us,” Saratoga coach Amber Olsen said. “We have better quickness.”
The Falcons had five short corner opportunities and cashed in on one with 21:41 left in the game when Maddie Block passed the ball to Kelly Parchuk, who left the ball for Kelly Seago. Seago’s hard shot found the right corner of the net.
Perkins, who moved up to the front line, Dana Schoeneman and Erin Magill all had second-half scoring opportunities for the Mustangs.
“I thought it was one of our better-played games,” GHS coach Erin Gemar said. “But that makes me nervous because all games in CCS will be like this. We executed well, but didn’t finish. One thing we could have done was give ourselves more opportunities to finish from the 25 to the top of the circle.”
JV: Saratoga won the junior varsity contest, 2-0.
Correction: Jaimie Silva scored the last goal Monday for Gilroy against Robert Louis Stevenson.
