Roundup: Schafer leads Balers to Monterey Bay Shootout title
with 15 goals scored
After coasting to the championship with three wins over Harbor,
Mercy and Monterey, the San Benito girls water polo team staved off
a last-minute surge from rival Gilroy Saturday to claim first place
at the Monterey Bay Shootout with a come-from-behind 8-7
victory.
Roundup: Schafer leads Balers to Monterey Bay Shootout title with 15 goals scored
After coasting to the championship with three wins over Harbor, Mercy and Monterey, the San Benito girls water polo team staved off a last-minute surge from rival Gilroy Saturday to claim first place at the Monterey Bay Shootout with a come-from-behind 8-7 victory.
The Balers trailed their league foe 4-3 at halftime and 6-5 entering the fourth quarter. But a game-tying goal by Hannah Smith 15 seconds into the final period set up the go-ahead goal by Jeanett Rodriguez one minute later.
Lauren Lango then provided some insurance for San Benito to put the Balers ahead 8-6 in the fourth quarter, while San Benito’s defense held Gilroy to a lone goal in the final stanza, one that didn’t come until 43 seconds remained in the period.
“After that, we just held on to the ball and played good defense,” San Benito head coach Hayley Vandercook said.
Rodriguez, Smith and Caitlin Schafer each provided two goals apiece for San Benito, while Sarina Schekenburger and Lango finished with one.
Brittany Olguin finished with eight saves.
The narrow victory capped a four-win effort by the Balers on Friday and Saturday in Watsonville. San Benito opened with a 9-2 victory against Harbor and followed with a 12-5 win against Mercy.
The Balers then wrapped up pool play with an easy 14-2 win over Monterey.
Schafer led San Benito with 15 goals through four games, while Smith chimed in with nine and Rodriguez followed with seven. Sarina Schekenburger finished with five goals, while Lindsay De La Torre had three and both Lango and Anna Dickson finished with two.
AHS Girls Volleyball
Despite an all-around performance by Alex Flores, the Anzar girls volleyball team was unable to steal a road victory Tuesday night in King City where the host Mustangs defeated the Hawks in five sets (25-18, 25-27, 25-18, 20-25, 15-2).
It is Anzar’s first league loss this season. The Hawks are now 2-1 in the Mission Trail Athletic League, 6-3 overall.
“It was a well fought match,” head coach Chris Wardlaw said. “Obviously, the end of the game it wasn’t such a great match, but it was a slugfest before that.”
Flores provided the San Juan Bautista school with 20 digs, 18 assists, nine kills, three-and-a-half blocks and an ace on Tuesday, while libero Carly Johnson had 20 digs.
Camille Merz led Anzar with 10 kills, while teammate Nicole Seymour had five kills and two blocks.
The Hawks’ scheduled match Thursday against Carmel was held after The Weekend Pinnacle’s press time.
