The Live Oak boys varsity field hockey team finished 3-2 in the
prestigious John Schmidt tournament held this weekend at Bellarmine
High School.
The Live Oak boys varsity water polo team finished 3-2 in the prestigious John Schmidt tournament held this weekend at Bellarmine High School.
“We had some good play from a lot of different people,” said Live Oak coach Mack Haines. “We had some strong performances from first-year players and from people coming off the bench. I thought we did a lot of things right, which more than balanced the mistakes. The major area we need to improve on is in our half-court offense.”
The numbers are up this year, and Haines is pleased with what he sees in Live Oak’s first full year in the new pool.
“All the younger players have really surprised me,” Haines said. “When we have corrected their mistakes, they have really tried really hard to improve on them. We are so much further than we were at this time of the year last year.”
Live Oak started off the tournament in a tough bracket against two of the perennial northern California power houses. But the upstart Acorns kept both games close.
In the first game on Friday, Live Oak lost to Acalanes of Lafette 7-3. Ryan Gautschi, who was returning to action after sitting out in practice because of stress in his left arm – his cannon – scored two goals. Justin Short had the other goal for the Acorns.
In the second game, Live Oak lost to Davis 7-5. Short had two goal. Gautschi, Bryson Bailey and Corey Robinson scored a goal each. Short and Robinson are two of the players Haines said have surprised him this year with their ability to step up.
On Saturday, Live Oak was able to string together its three wins. The Acorns started off the morning game with an 11-4 win over Turlock.
Gautschi had five goals, Robinson and Devin Merchant had two goals and Mark Ahlin and Short added goals.
Live Oak defeated Serra High 9-5 in the next game behind four goals from Gautschi. Robinson had two goals, and Mike Mitchell, Bailey and Short also added goals.
In the final game against Archbishop Mitty, Live Oak overcame a 4-1 disadvantage after the first period and tied the game at the half. In the third period, the Acorns took the lead after outscoring the Monarchs 3-0 in the period and held on to win 9-7.
Gautschi scored five goals. Short had two goals, and Ahlin and Robinson capped off the scoring.
Goalie Jason Kim had a strong tournament in the net.
Shea Coleman came in to relieve him in the final game and had a strong performance, including stopping a penalty shot.
The Acorns don’t have the solid two-meter presence that they had last year in Matt McElroy, Haines said.
“We seen a lot of improvement over the players from the summer,” Haines said. “A lot of the credit goes to Justin Brink, who ran the summer program. We are a pretty strong swimming team, and we play good defense.”
David Dunn, one of Live Oak’s strongest swimmers, is playing his first year on the water polo team.
“We’re using him in situational type areas,” Haines said. “He won most of the sprints for us. But he is still learning the game. He has got a great attitude. It is not a game you can learn in a couple of weeks. There are times he really struggles, but there are times when speed can make up for a lot of mistakes because he can get there so fast. Hopefully by the end of the year, we will be able to utilize his abilities.”
The Live Oak boys team will play Monterey in the league opener at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 as the first leg of the double-header with the girls team following. Monterey traditionally has had a strong swimming program and should give Live Oak a close match.
“We are going to try to work on the half-court offense,” Haines said. “We are going to try to press them and fast break them and take advantage of our pool. We have played a little more in the summer, and we just finished a tournament so we may be more prepared. I haven’t seen them, so I can’t say how they will be.”
