Down by just one at the half, the Gilroy High girls varsity
water polo team had San Benito right where it wanted them. Or so it
seemed.
The Mustangs’ top offensive threat in Chelsea Hill, who had four
of the team’s six goals in the opening half, did not return to
action in the second and GHS wasn’t the same as the Lady Balers
rattled off eight second-half goals for the 15-8 win on
Thursday.
Gilroy – Down by just one at the half, the Gilroy High girls varsity water polo team had San Benito right where it wanted them. Or so it seemed.
The Mustangs’ top offensive threat in Chelsea Hill, who had four of the team’s six goals in the opening half, did not return to action in the second and GHS wasn’t the same as the Lady Balers rattled off eight second-half goals for the 15-8 win on Thursday.
“She does play a big role on the team, but she isn’t the only factor,” GHS coach Sean LaGuardia said. “We were just out of sync. Quite honestly, they just outplayed us today.”
Hill put the Mustangs on the board in a low-scoring first period with nine seconds to go. Baler goalie Katie Thorpe made things tough on the Mustangs in the opening period, turning away six shots.
With San Benito up 3-1, Hill went on a tear less than a minute into the second period, scoring three straight goals, two of which came after she forced turnovers. The Mustangs, however, did not lead in the game again.
Michelle Shields poured in two goals late in the period to bring the Mustangs to within one, but before the wheels fell off in the second half.
“They were really physical,” Nicole Nelson said. “They had a lot of depth on that team.”
Taking advantage of some obvious defensive breakdowns, the Balers scored quickly and with ease when Demi Gatrell added four goals in the first four minutes of the third period.
Alyssa Rothenberg and Francesca Comin contributed fourth period goals for the Mustangs.
GILROY HIGH BOYS WATER POLO
Hollister – Gilroy head coach Tom Clark said his Mustangs came out a little rusty in the first quarter on Thursday in Hollister – just enough time for the San Benito Haybalers to take advantage.
Behind a seven-goal effort from Nick Angulo, who pocketed three scores in the first quarter alone, the Balers opened up a 9-3 lead at halftime en route to a 19-12 victory on Thursday in what was both teams Tri-County Athletic League opener.
“But there is lots left to work on,” Baler head coach Tom Agan said.
For Gilroy, though, the league opener doubled as the team’s very first match of the season, and miscues were prevalent early on.
“Basically, the transitions. (The Balers) were constantly open on the transitions,” Clark said. “Our guys were sitting and watching the game. But we kind of got away from that and guys were staying on people a little bit better in the end.”
The Balers (1-0 TCAL, 2-2), which were fresh off a 1-2 performance at the Monterey Bay Invitational last weekend, prevented the Mustangs from doing much of anything in the first period. Frequent Gilroy turnovers converted into a 3-0 San Benito lead after just one minute of play, and the Mustangs were unable to erase the early deficit through the remainder of the game.
“Our set-up defense was not bad,” Agan said.
While San Benito managed to grab a four-goal lead later in the first, Gilroy recorded its first shot on net – and its first goal – when Eddie Malick found Zack Kendrick nearly four minutes into the contest.
“It was really rusty at first,” Clark said.
Michael Shields turned in a solid offensive day, scoring five times for the Mustangs, but it was Kendrick who led the team with seven goals and two assists, and he hooked up with Malick for four of those scores.
Shields and Kendrick combined for all 12 of Gilroy’s goals.
The strong offensive output from Shields and Kendrick wasn’t enough to offset San Benito’s attack, however. With a 5-1 lead after one quarter, the Balers opened a 9-3 cushion by halftime behind three second-quarter goals from Danny Jarret.
Jarret finished with four assists, while Josh Schafer posted balanced numbers as well with four goals and three assists, and Eric Nicolaysen tacked on three goals and three assists.
With a comfortable lead heading into the second half, though, Agan took the in-game opportunity to practice a different attack, and forced the Balers to operate through its set-up offense, instead of relying on transitions and counters.
The change in the gameplan showed Agan what the Balers need to develop and improve, as Gilroy outscored San Benito 6-4 in the third period.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do … Our transition defense needs a lot of work,” Agan said. “Gilroy outscored us in the third quarter … and it was all because I changed our offense and essentially gave them a chance to counterattack.
“It was almost like I turned the game around. But I didn’t think we did a good job with our set-up offense, or our transition defense. So there’s still a lot to work on.”
While the Mustangs did close the gap in the third quarter to 13-9, San Benito pocketed the first two goals of the final stanza – one by Schafer and another by Tyler Reuther – to give the home team a little breathing room.
“After the first quarter, we did much better on transitions,” Clark said. “They weren’t getting guys open as much.”
Gilroy (0-1 TCAL, 0-1) will take a break from league play and open the eight-team Monterey Bay Shootout on Friday at Watsonville High. The Mustangs will play Watsonville at 1:30 p.m., before playing Silver Creek at 5:30 p.m.
San Benito will continue with league play on Tuesday when they visit Salinas. The match is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., at Hartnell College.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
GILR 1 2 6 3 12
SANB 5 4 4 6 19
GILROY STATS:
BOYS
Senior Zach Kendrick:
5 goals
3 assists
Sophomore Michael Shields:
5 goals
2 Assists
5 steals
Shields won 3 out of the 4 sprints
Senior Eddie Malick:
1 goal
6 assists
6 steals
Senior Cameron Brown
2 steals
Senior Anthony Lucero
3 steals
Junior Alan Lindseth
2 steals
1 assist
GIRLS:
Junior Chelsea Hill
4 goals
1 assist
Senior Alyssa Rothenberg
1 goal
2 steals
Sophomore Francesca Comin
1 goal
Junior Leah Ails
1 assist
1 steal
Junior Nicole Nelsen
1 steal
1 assist
Goalie: Junior Devan Lauber
8 saves
