Hollister overwhelmed by powerful Salinas attack
Down 5-2 at the midway point in the second quarter of its game against Salinas, the San Benito High boys’ water polo team was in desperate need of the proverbial spark to get its offense going.
And the Haybalers got it when coach Tom Agan called a timeout with two and a half minutes left in the half.
Hollister stormed out of that break to score a quick goal after Joel Smith hit Dave Smith right in front of the Salinas goal with a nice pass. Dave fired the ball past the Cowboys’ keeper to cut the Salinas lead to two at 5-3.
Only moments later, Rory Bloch stole the ball away from the Salinas player he was defending and found Dave Smith with a pass. Smith’s shot was blocked by the Cowboys’ keeper but Cliff Gere was there to collect the rebound and put the ball into the back of the net to make it 5-4 Salinas at halftime.
But the Cowboys came out strong in the third quarter, scoring quickly after the break’s conclusion and then shutting down Hollister’s offense to take the 12-7 victory in the Tri-County Athletic League opener.
“In a nutshell, I think we just had a few too many mistakes,” Agan said. “We definitely didn’t convert our man-ups. We were given opportunities, we just couldn’t do it.”
In the third quarter, the Haybalers didn’t so much lose the intensity they built up just prior to halftime on Monday, it’s just that the Salinas defense was able to turn them away empty handed at every scoring opportunity.
Hollister peppered the Salinas goal with shots early in the third. But the Cowboys’ defense always seemed to have somebody with an arm in the way just at the right moment. The ‘Balers saw their shots bouncing off of the frame of the goal more than a couple of times on Thursday as well.
“We’ve got some things to work on before we can get to the level Salinas is at,” Agan said. “Give Salinas credit, they did a heck of a job. I think we can beat Salinas, there’s no doubt in my mind. But we’re going to have to play a better game of water polo to get it done.”
JV boys water polo
The Hollister JV boys water polo team beat Salinas 7-5 on Thursday in a game that went into overtime. After four periods of regulation play the game was tied 5-5. Hollister scored in the 1st overtime period to make it 6-5. Hollister did an excellent job of controlling the clock during the last overtime period and putting in a goal to win the game 7-5. Adam Rianda scored three goals, Bob Glashan scored two, Bruce Butler scored one, Matt Morrison scored one. Bruce Butler did an outstanding job at two meter defense to keep Salinas from scoring. John Kaplanis kept Salinas to only five goals by doing a tremendous job at the keeper spot.
Girls’ tennis
The Haybalers’ record now stands at a perfect 6-0 following a 5-2 win on the road over North Salinas on Thursday. Danielle Burke breezed through her match, 6-0, 6-0. Amanda Marshall won 6-2, 6-1, Kaitlyn O’Keefe took her number-three singles match by a score of 6-0, 6-1 and number-four singles player Jessica Trudell won 6-3, 6-1.
