Senior nights Thursday for local girls basketball teams
MORGAN HILL — His team leads the West Valley Division by a game and a half with three matches left, so Live Oak boys soccer coach Tony Goble waxed complacency Friday after the Acorns tied Independence 1-1 at Live Oak High.
This late in the regular season, draws are almost as good as wins for the Acorns (7-2-7 overall, 7-0-4 league).
“Almost,” Goble said with a hint of discomfort. “Too many ties can hurt us if the teams behind us keep winning games”
Second-place Silver Creek and third-place Santa Teresa won their matches Friday to stay hot on Live Oak’s trail. The Acorns will travel to both schools next week; part of a challenging stretch run that includes a rematch with Independence on Saturday in San Jose.
Live Oak can clinch a playoff berth and the team’s first league championship since 2006 in a number of ways. Goble prefers the quickest route.
“We had every opportunity to turn this tie into a win,” he said. “I’m not too upset about this. It could have been worse. This was the first time we’ve seen Independence, so we didn’t know what to expect. They gave us a good fight.”
The 76ers were on pace to snap the Acorns’ 13-game unbeaten streak after going ahead 1-0 in the first half. Live Oak pulled even with Ben Hartl’s header off a free kick in the 63rd minute.
The Acorns had two more opportunities to score. In the first half, junior forward Ubaldo Lopez faked out the Independence goalkeeper but was caught from behind by a defender. In the second, Live Oak’s Cesar Lustre blasted a clean shot that deflected off the crossbar.
“We finish one of those plays, we’re that much closer,” Goble said.
Sobrato 4, Westmont 2
With three winnable matches left in the regular season, Sobrato has a golden opportunity to shake up the Santa Teresa Division.
The Bulldogs put themselves in that position Thursday, beating second-place Westmont 4-2 behind two goals from Cullen Herrington and one by Shawn Henner and Jovani Franco, who all scored in the second half. Kimanni Shannon and Adam Guerra had two assists apiece.
It was the second straight win for Sobrato (6-4-6, 5-3-3), which moved within a game of third-place Leland. The Bulldogs still have an outside shot of making the Central Coast Section playoffs. They will play their next two games at home against fifth-place Lick on Monday and sixth-place Hill on Tuesday before facing Lick again on the road Thursday.
The visiting Warriors (9-2-6, 7-2-3) led 1-0 at halftime Thursday. Jason Lee scored both goals for Westmont, and Jackson Vlay had an assist.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Prospect 65, Sobrato 31
The Lady Bulldogs led by four at the end of the first quarter, but Prospect took over from there Thursday in Mount Hamilton Division play.
Mariah Rogers had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Panthers (11-11, 6-6), and Nicole Harada added a dozen points.
Saida Sampson and Katie Nicca scored eight and seven points, respectively, for Sobrato (3-19, 0-11), which visits Oak Grove on Tuesday before hosting Westmont for Senior Night on Thursday.
Willow Glen 57, Live Oak 17
Down to six healthy players, the Lady Acorns could only do so much Thursday at Willow Glen.
The Rams (4-17, 3-9) snapped a five-game losing streak in the West Valley on the heels of Alyssa O’Brien’s 18 points.
Fa Saulala scored six points to lead Live Oak (4-15, 2-10).
The Acorns travel to Lick on Tuesday and will play their Senior Night on Thursday against Hill.
