It didn’t take long for the Live Oak High field hockey team to
get its season started on the right foot.
Morgan Hill – It didn’t take long for the Live Oak High field hockey team to get its season started on the right foot.
The Acorns punched in five goals in the first half en route to a 6-0 win on the road against Sobrato in their season-opener Tuesday.
“For the first game of the year, they really needed to win, they wanted to win,” Live Oak coach Paula Haaser said. “They did a good job.”
The Bulldogs, who won their season-opener against York 6-0, fell to 1-1 on the early season.
“It’s just more learning experience,” Sobrato coach Carmen Villegas said of the game. “It’s just a part of learning.”
The Acorns’ junior forward Lexy Nuno kickstarted the offense when she punched in the first goal off a rebound on a short corner to make it 1-0.
“We’ve really been concentrating on short corners and it paid off today,” Haaser said.
Junior forward Kami Tersini made it 2-0 when she fired a long shot into the back of the net for her first of four goals on the day.
Sobrato had its best chance to get on the scoreboard when junior Jenna Vivian had a penalty stroke opportunity, but her shot sailed high over the goal to keep it 2-0 Live Oak.
Acorns’ junior defender Tanya Ferry made it 3-0 when she knocked home a goal on a corner shot and Tersini scored twice more before halftime and punched in the only goal of the second half to wrap up the scoring.
“For them to starting running in a game with a new coach, it really showed a lot of unity,” said Haaser, who is in her first year at the helm for Live Oak. “It also showed us a lot of areas that we need to improve and to see what the competition is going to be like.”
Sobrato used the game as an opportunity for the young program to continue to improve.
“I just work on having the kids work on their skills no matter who they play,” Villegas said.
Haaser was pleased that her team played solidly in all facets of the game, including strong defensive play which prevented the Bulldogs from attacking the Acorns’ goal.
“We have some phenomenal defenders,” Haaser said. “They love their positions. I think the defense did a great job, I think the offense did a great job keeping it at the other end. I think the team just really played well.”
