San Benito scores early and often in 22-6 win over Gilroy
Hollister – Bolstered by the presence of the San Benito band and the festivities of Homecoming Week, the San Benito girls’ water polo team took the pool ready to celebrate Senior Day with a big win over visiting Gilroy. And in the final regular season game in the Tri-County Athletic League, the ‘Balers did just that, scoring 10 times in the first quarter to propel themselves to a 22-6 win on Thursday.
With the TCAL playoffs set to begin on Tuesday, San Benito (17-3, 7-1 TCAL) took advantage of the sun-splashed afternoon to spread around the good times and the scoring before refocusing for the postseason.
“It was a lot of fun,” San Benito senior co-captain Jarae Tanner said. “Get the last big excitement out of (the season) before the huge TCALs and hopefully CCS.”
In a wild first quarter, the ‘Balers and Mustangs unleashed a flurry of shots, with the hosts scoring nearly at will in the early going. Though Gilroy tied the game at 1-1 when junior Jenny Ailes took a rebound from Maegan Collett’s shot off the left post to score at the 6:14 mark, San Benito playmakers Katie Buzzetta and Jayme Telles teamed up to score five unanswered goals in the next two minutes.
Though the Mustangs (7-7-1, 4-4 TCAL) recovered to trade goals with the ‘Balers as the quarter progressed, San Benito’s deep offense kept up its frantic pace with scores by Kirsten Palm and Buzzetta near the period’s end to give the hosts a 10-3 lead.
Five more ‘Baler goals in the second quarter removed any doubt from the outcome. Buzzetta posted seven goals – all before halftime – to lead all scorers. Telles finished with three goals.
Given the chance to empty its bench, San Benito put nine different players in the scoring column. Seniors Valerie Nicolason, Stephanie Rodriguez and Tanner all scored twice for the ‘Balers, and classmates Brit Howell and Audra Brown both posted a goal in the fourth quarter.
Ailes led Gilroy with three goals, and senior Lauren Baty contributed two.
Mustangs coach Andy Been said the lopsided outcome didn’t mean all the enjoyment was on the ‘Balers’ side. “So much of this sport is a hard contact sport,” he said. “Even though we got beaten badly, we had fun and we didn’t give up.”
The Mustangs are in the mix for the No. 4 seed in the TCAL tournament, fighting with Monterey and Salinas for the spot behind Santa Catalina, San Benito and Robert Louis Stevenson.
After falling to regular season champion Santa Catalina 14-8 on Oct. 17, the ‘Balers enter next week’s tournament intent on a better showing. “We’re going to be ready for them,” San Benito coach Lacey Sutton said.
“We have to be the most focused for them,” Tanner added. “We’re focused, we’re determined and we want to do very well.”
With Santa Catalina and San Benito set to occupy the top-two seeds, the ‘Balers would need to win the tournament title to forge a shared TCAL Championship.
“We need to believe in ourselves that we can do it,” Sutton said.
The top-three TCAL finishers will earn automatic bids to the Central Coast Section playoffs.
