The No. 3 San Benito girls polo team defeated No. 6 Salinas 11-3
Tuesday, but there won’t be any easy games left in the Tri-County
Athletic League tournament.
Hollister – The No. 3 San Benito girls polo team defeated No. 6 Salinas 11-3 Tuesday, but there won’t be any easy games left in the Tri-County Athletic League tournament.
“We’ve seen them (the Cowboys) three times, so it becomes difficult,” said coach Derek Kisling. “Anything can happen. We had a little time getting adjusted to the calls, but once we got adjusted, we did well.”
The victory pits the Haybalers against No. 2 Santa Catalina at Santa Catalina Thursday. If the Balers win, they would most likely face Live Oak Saturday for the championship. The key will be stopping Devin Kennifer, who scored almost all the goals last time the teams met.
“Their pool is about as wide as ours is long,” Kisling said. “We’ve played good defense in our pool because the shooters are forced to come to the center. We got to be a lot quicker. But whatever happens, we will make them earn it.”
The Balers built up a 6-1 lead against Salinas by the end of the half. But for the most part, San Benito got it done without leading scorer Kathryn Adamek. Adamek scored just one goal in the game – a hard shot to the opposite corner of the net with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter.
“We were trying not to let them shoot and score at will,” said Salinas coach Patty Lamar. “We were playing a higher seed, so we knew it would be tough.”
Katie Buzzetta led the Haybalers with four goals.
“We went all out with this game,” Buzzetta said. “Everyone gave it their best.”
With 50 seconds left, Jordan Telles scored a goal after a half effort by the goalie. Telles was playing her first high school game with her younger sister Jamie, who was called up from the JV team.
“It was fun playing with her,” Jordan said. “I teach her a lot of things, but she also teaches me some things. We have different skills.”
To start off the fourth quarter, Buzzetta scored a one-on-one goal with the goal after the Balers won the faceoff.
Amanda Rodriguez had two goals in the first half. Others with goals were Natalie Smith, Brandy Russell, Kirsten Palm and Tara Damon.
