Live Oak’s girls water polo team advanced to the second round of
the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs with a 8-3 win over
Saratoga.
Morgan Hill – Live Oak’s girls water polo team advanced to the second round of the Central Coast Section Division II playoffs with a 8-3 win over Saratoga.
It was the first time since 1998 that the Acorns advanced past the first round of the playoffs. That year, Live Oak went to the semifinals where it was defeated by Menlo School.
Coach Sharon Hyrne said she was excited with the way the girls played – not relying on one person to provide the offensive push.
Laura Shope led the Acorns in scoring with three goals. Kristi Short, Katie Rick, Jessica Poon and Melissa Poon all contributed one goal in the winning effort.
The Acorns jumped out to an early 3-1 lead against the visiting Falcons.
“One thing that we tend to do (in other games) is not be aggressive early,” Hyrne said. “We like to come from behind.”
But in this game, she said, the girls were able to attack early and hold on to the lead throughout.
The Acorns maintained their lead through the second quarter, adding an additional goal going into the half.
In each of the third and fourth quarters, Live Oak yielded one goal, but answered each time with two of its own.
The Acorns led 6-2 after three quarters and extended the lead to 8-3 for the final margin of victory in the fourth.
Hyrne said the girls were initially feeling the pressure of being in the CCS game, but were able to calm down as the match progressed.
“We were a little unorganized,” Hyrne said. “I attribute that to nerves and the excitement of being in the first round.”
Live Oak’s win comes just days after being blown out by Leland 20-4 in the Blossom Valley Athletic League tournament championship match.
Hyrne said teams tend to be demoralized following such lopsided scores, but her girls were able to put that behind them and focus on their CCS match.
Now the Acorns’ gaze shiftd to the No. 3 seeded Santa Catalina, which they will face Saturday at Independence High School in San Jose.
“The girls are playing with more confidence,” Hyrne said. “It is always good coming into a match against a tough challenger with a solid win.”
The last time the two schools met in the CCS playoffs, Santa Catalina downed the Acorns 4-3 in 2004.
More recently, however, the Acorns have battled Cougars tough, including defeating them twice in 2005.
