Mustangs take lead late, hold on for 9-7 victory at San Benito
High
HOLLISTER
As usual, there was no love lost between San Benito and Gilroy.
The two teams welcomed their respective first-year coaches to the rivalry with a physical brand of water polo on Thursday in Hollister, where the fouls were frequent and the Mustangs were strong till the very end.
Although they were without the lead for the majority of the contest, Gilroy staved off any last-minute comeback by the Lady ‘Balers and held on for a narrow 9-7 victory, rumored to be the first time the Mustangs have trumped San Benito in several years.
“This is my second year of teaching and last year I didn’t know much about it,” said Mustangs coach Sean La Guardia of the rivalry. “But the girls got me into it.”
With San Benito goalie Katie Thorpe and Gilroy’s Chelsea Hill keeping the scoring at a premium, the Mustangs managed to grab a 7-6 advantage with just three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter – in what was their first lead of the game – and held on in the waning minutes.
San Benito was able to take five shots on net in the final three minutes, but only one of them found the back of the net, and ‘Baler coach Hayley Vandercook spoke of missed opportunities after the game.
“I think we were pretty evenly matched, we just let the physicality of the game get to our heads,” she said. “It kind of felt like we were playing down the whole game because our moral got a little low and our shots weren’t hitting the net.”
San Benito held leads of 3-2 after one quarter and 4-3 at halftime, but the team struggled at times offensively, perhaps offsetting any momentum.
“They’re really a strong shooting team, a strong passing team,” said the sophomore Hill. “They know our weaknesses and our strengths and I know the next match will be a tougher one because I know they can bring it.
“I’m just so happy right now, I’m shaking.”
If there was any momentum to grab in the tight match, the Lady ‘Balers may have lassoed a little bit at the start of the third quarter.
Gilroy opened the half with a shot-clock violation and San Benito answered when Kelsey Russell pocketed one of her three goals on the day – a laser shot from the middle of the pool that found the right side of the net and supplied the Lady ‘Balers with a two-goal advantage.
But the game got noticeably chippy for the remainder of the third quarter, and while frustration seemed to set in amongst both teams, Gilroy took advantage of two steals at the middle to tie the match up at 5-all, including a 5-meter shot by Bianca Catanzaro that found the back of the net.
Catanzaro scored both of her goals in the third quarter.
“It was a good lesson in sportsmanship,” Vandercook said. “They shoot so great in practice and it just went to their heads. They’ll get it back.”
With the two teams knotted at 5-all and 6-all in the fourth, Gilroy went up for good with 3:01 left on a score by Alana Osaki, who scored all three of her goals in the final period.
Gilroy’s Maegan Collett was the only other multi-goal scorer, as she pocketed two points. San Benito’s Ali Blake, Ronnie Stern, Sarah Kelso and Amanda Virak, while also Gilroy’s Alex Marshall and Alyssa Rothenberg, each scored once for their respective teams.
“They made some mistakes that we were able to capitalize on,” La Guardia said. “The next time we play them … you’ll see a similar result. It should be a really close game throughout.”
San Benito (0-1 TCAL, 1-1) will be on the road Tuesday at Salinas, while Gilroy (1-0, 1-1) will host Stevenson on Wednesday. Both games begin at 3:30 p.m.
“They’ll come back stronger from this,” Vandercook said. “Sometimes losing teaches you more than winning does.”
