Freshman helps avenge early season loss to league rival MORGAN
HILL Playing under an Indian summer sun on Wednesday, the Live Oak
girls field hockey team defeated the Westmont Warriors 1-0. In her
first varsity game since being called up from JV last week,
freshman Catherine Sparling, 14, scored the only goal of the game
20 minutes into the second half on a short-corner opportunity.
Freshman helps avenge early season loss to league rival
MORGAN HILL
Playing under an Indian summer sun on Wednesday, the Live Oak girls field hockey team defeated the Westmont Warriors 1-0.
In her first varsity game since being called up from JV last week, freshman Catherine Sparling, 14, scored the only goal of the game 20 minutes into the second half on a short-corner opportunity.
Senior Sarah Locarnini hit the ball into play and senior Robin Nelson made a turnaround pass to Sparling who knocked a hard-hit ball past the goalie for the score.
Nelson came out of the game five minutes into the second half with a bruised ankle, but she returned around the nine-minute mark.
Despite the injury, Nelson displayed her speed and skill at midfield helping out on big plays on offense and defense.
Sparling, who turns 15 tomorrow, said she couldn’t concentrate after she scored the game-winning goal.
“I was kind of shocked at how fast it is … the first couple of minutes were scary,” Sparling said. “Varsity is totally different because everybody plays really aggressive all the time.”
After she scored, Sparling said she had to stop and regain her concentration because she was overly excited.
“But this one game taught me so much about being a better forward,” the freshman said. “Playing at this level I get a different insight to the game.”
Towards the end of the game, junior Brooke Willis broke away from a defender and found Sparling near the goal, but the Westmont goalie came out of the box and broke up the play.
Despite controlling the ball for the majority of the game, the Acorns were unable to capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities.
But the defense stepped up where the offense stepped down.
Seniors Holly Turay, Nikki Patel and Kourtney Kientzy thwarted every Warriors attack with positioning, speedy running and ball control.
“We always play better against good teams,” Turay said. “It was a team effort … we played well as a whole and utilized the entire field.”
Kientzy said that there is a rivalry between Live Oak and Westmont that gets her blood pumping every time they play.
“They are good competition for us,” she said. “We lost to them earlier in the season and we made sure that we won this one.”
Live Oak improved their record to 7-4 on the season and Patel attributed Wednesday’s win to the Acorns’ camaraderie and field presence.
“We talk really well out there,” Patel said. “And we have each others’ backs.”
Coach Gina Sanders said she’s proud that Sparling scored the game-winning goal in her first varsity outing, and is happy with her team’s adjustment to the new addition.
“We had a lot of new elements out there today with new players and different formations, and they adjusted really well,” Sanders said.
