If Leigh or Branham win the Mt. Hamilton Division, they should send a gift basket to Sobrato.
The three-win Bulldogs squad was never in contention for a league title this year and got two of their wins against seventh place Pioneer.
Sobrato has been outscored in league play 41-16, that includes being outscored 39-12 by the top five teams in the division.
Despite all of that, the Bulldogs have helped to decide the league title as much as any of the front runners have done this season.
Right now, Leigh needs at least a tie to hold at worst a share of the league title. Branham can steal the league title with a win and a Live Oak loss or tie Thursday.
Neither of those scenarios would be in play if Sobrato had not scored an upset against Live Oak on Jan. 30.
The Bulldogs’ 2-1 win took away Live Oak’s chance to control its own destiny for a league title.
The upset win also has eliminated Live Oak’s chances at securing an outright title thanks to Leigh winning on Tuesday.
Live Oak went on to knock off Branham and Leigh after falling to the Bulldogs and dismantled the bottom two teams of Willow Glen and Pioneer by a combined score of 11-1.
Since losing to Sobrato, Live Oak has outscored opponents 16-2 and gone 4-0-1 in the stretch.
It’s a game the Acorns wish they could have back.
Sure there were other points to be had for Live Oak that the Acorns left on the table — losses to Branham and Santa Teresa and ties against Leigh and Santa Teresa — but those missteps came against the best teams in the best division in the BVAL. And Live Oak was competitive in all four of those games.
But all else being the same, Sobrato denied Live Oak three precious points and denied the Acorns a chance to not have to worry about what Leigh did this week.
Live Oak had a chance to hold 29 points (three for a win and one for a loss) to Leigh’s 28. All the Acorns would have to do is win and they would be league champs. Now, the onus is on the Longhorns to hold serve and control their own destiny. Branham would also be on the outside looking in with its only hopes resting in Live Oak losing and it beating Leigh just to tie for first.
So all of this was not to just rub it in that Sobrato won, it just shows the true power of the spoiler role and just how devastating one loss can be.
The Bulldogs made life miserable for their arch rivals and will never apologize for it.
In all other sports to this point — football, girls volleyball, water polo, boys and girls basketball and girls golf — the favored team has pulled out a win against the crosstown rivals. Most were closely fought matches, but the team predicted to win did until Sobrato’s upset.
Live Oak may get the last laugh, however. Regardless of whether Live Oak finishes tied for first or tied for third, the Acorns are playing well heading into CCS and are expecting to make a run at a section title starting next week.
With Alissa Pham back and healthy, Shannon Rauschnot, Holly Hopwood, Ally Salzwedel and Bella Apolina all playing well combined with keeper Macey Linder, who has tossed three shutouts in the last five games, and a solid defensive four in front of her, Live Oak will not be a team to take lightly in the playoffs.
