Morgan Hill – The Sobrato High School field hockey team
overwhelmed Cupertino High School with intensity, teamwork, and
unselfishness in Wednesday’s final preseason game for the lady
Bulldogs.
Morgan Hill – The Sobrato High School field hockey team overwhelmed Cupertino High School with intensity, teamwork, and unselfishness in Wednesday’s final preseason game for the lady Bulldogs.
Before the start, head coach Nikki Donaldson advised her players not to power the ball through the other team, but to use short passes to advance it.
Taking note from their coach the girls used precise down field and short range passing to notch a 3-1 victory.
Cupertino’s junior forward Christine Adame struck the back of the box for the first goal of the game at the 10:03 mark of the first half.
Determined to answer back, Sobrato’s junior forward Jenn Tran took a shot on goal at the 14:40 mark, which was stopped by Cupertino’s senior goalie Pye Pye Zaw.
Recognizing Tran and the rest of the team’s hustle and surge Donaldson called senior forward Briana Fisher into the game for some fresh legs and added field presence.
With eight minutes left in the half, amongst a sea of red and white jerseys, Fisher knocked in Sobrato’s first goal to tie the game 1-1.
Cupertino controlled the ball for much of the remainder of the half, taking one quality shot on goal which was blocked by sophomore goalie Kristin Wallash.
Senior goalie Casey Post watched the game from the sideline because of a one-game suspension the Sobrato administration handed her after a fight she was involved in early this week.
To make up for her presence in the goal, Donaldson called up Wallash from the JV team on short notice, and she rose to the occasion.
Cupertino took possession of the ball at the beginning of the second half for more than three minutes, but would lose it on a foot penalty deep in Pioneer territory.
4:52 into the second half Fisher capitalized again amongst a scrum of players near the goal, giving Sobrato the lead 2-1.
Faced with a surging Cupertino squad the Bulldogs worked to maintain possession after another saved shot on a goal by Wallash.
Thriving off Wallash’s saves and a key defensive stop by senior Elizabeth Gordon, Sobrato went back on the offensive to score another goal at the 19:00 mark when a streaking Tran knocked in a short pass from Fisher to extend the lead 3-1.
“We worked really hard to get it down there, and it feels good not to let my team down,” Tran said. ” It’s a team game and we have to work together.”
Cupertino had their chances to make a comeback at the 21-minute mark, and again with one minute left in the game on short corner opportunities, but could not match the defensive intensity of Sobrato.
Having the JV goalie step up to Varsity and perform was the biggest part of Wednesday’s win for Donaldson.
“The girls’ communication and teamwork skills are finally coming together, too,” Donaldson said. “This game was a good leadoff into the season, and we feel like anything is possible.”
Sobrato heads into their first league home game Sept. 18 against University High School looking to build on their preseason record of 1-2.
Fisher, who came off the bench to score two goals, was happy about the win, and is getting ancy for league to begin.
“It’s just exciting to see how the season will turn out,” Fisher said. “And scoring goals really gets me pumped up.”
