‘Balers use last-second goal to force OT; team rallies to top
Saratoga in H2Oktoberfest
Hollister – As the final seconds ticked down, the San Benito girls’ water polo team was staring a tough defeat straight in the eye. After blowing a two-goal lead against a team they had comfortably defeated earlier in the season, the ‘Balers trailed Saratoga 8-7, and they couldn’t break free from the Falcon defenders to get a shot off.
Four seconds, 3, 2 … but then the whistle blew, with a referee signaling a foul on the Falcon guarding San Benito’s Katie Buzzetta. And with her defender temporarily at bay, Buzzetta unloaded a desperation shot that slammed into the back of the goal, shocking Saratoga (8-4) and sending the game into overtime.
And with new life, the ‘Balers (13-2) never looked back, as Jayme Telles scored on the first possession of the sudden-death period to complete San Benito’s dramatic, 9-8 (OT) win in the H2Oktoberfest Friday in Hollister.
“‘This is it,'” Buzzetta said she told herself right before her shot with :01 left. “‘Either make it and tie it, or lose.’ That was our last hope.”
Said San Benito coach Lacey Sutton: “It was pretty nerve-wracking. We were all excited for the finish. … I was just praying she was going to make it.”
The game-tying goal capped a dizzying sequence that began with a ‘Baler turnover with about 35 seconds remaining. With Sutton screaming, “Get the ball, get the ball,” Buzzetta did just that, swooping in to pickpocket Saratoga star Hayes Hyde in the middle of the pool. With just Falcon goalie Michelle Vannier between Buzzetta and the goal, Hyde prevented a breakaway score with a foul from behind, delaying the action long enough for the other players to swim back into the play.
The ‘Balers swung the ball around the perimeter, looking for an opening, but Saratoga kept closing in to deny any shots. Frantic to tie the game, San Benito lost possession of the ball a few times in the waning seconds, but continually regained possession just as it appeared Saratoga might clinch the game with a steal.
“It was crazy,” ‘Balers sophomore Shelli Reed said. “We were all trying to get the ball.”
Added Buzzetta: “It was a hot potato. … All our nerves, we were just excited. We kind of got all hyped up.”
As Telles attempted to shovel a pass from the left corner to Buzzetta, the Falcons again nearly swiped the ball, but fortune then smiled on the ‘Balers with the foul and last-second score.
Assessing the end-of-regulation sequence, Saratoga coach Courtney Crase said she wished the referees hadn’t called a foul at such a critical juncture, but that her team may have also been a bit too aggressive. “We should’ve protected the ball without fouling,” she said. “It should’ve been a ‘press, no foul.'”
Rallying to overcome a 5-3 deficit, Saratoga took an 8-7 lead with 1:40 left in regulation when Courtney Nolet found a wide-open Marcy Lopez on the left side for a goal.
But in a contest that had three lead changes and seven ties, San Benito made sure to make its last-second comeback count. Reed won the sprint to the ball at the start of overtime, and Kirsten Palm found Telles for the game-winner before Saratoga could even take possession.
Sutton said Reed securing the ball was critical. “First team to the ball wins, pretty much.”
“We really needed the ball that time,” said Reed, who also gave San Benito a 7-6 lead with her fourth-quarter goal. “Everyone was like, ‘C’mon Shelli, we need this.'”
Kirsten Palm also starred for the ‘Balers, scoring the team’s first three goals to finish with four scores and two assists. Buzzetta notched three goals and three assists for San Benito, and Telles added two assists to her decisive score.
Saratoga’s Hyde, a junior utility player, scored a game-high five goals.
San Benito also beat Saratoga 8-5 in the championship game of the Independence Sixer Tournament on Sep. 23.
Earlier Friday, the ‘Balers defeated San Lorenzo Valley 16-7 in their first H2Oktoberfest contest. San Benito completes pool play in Bracket A by facing Piedmont Hills at 9am today.
Piedmont Hills dropped its first two tournament contests, falling 9-2 to Saratoga and 11-2 to San Lorenzo Valley.
Should the ‘Balers win their morning contest, they would advance to the championship game against the Bracket B winner at 3:15pm.
Presentation defeated Live Oak 5-3, and beat Salinas 13-2 on Friday, leaving the Panthers as the heavy favorite to advance to the title game from that bracket.
Should the ‘Balers defeat Piedmont Hills, they know they face a tough task, whether their opponent is Presentation or arch rival Live Oak.
“It’s going to be pretty tight,” Reed said. “It’ll probably be like this game here. It won’t be easy for us, but I think we can pull it off.”
