Sobrato’s relatively new sports of boys and girls lacrosse are both having their best seasons ever.
After two years of major struggles, the girls team is competitive in a challenging league. They are 4-6 overall, 4-5 in Blossom Valley Athletic League play. That slots them into fourth place, with a week to play, and remaining schedules give them a solid chance to jump to third.
“There is a big motivation this season,” Sobrato coach Amy Craig said. “We’re bringing up our program.”
Elite Live Oak and powerful Leland are in the first two positions in the BVAL standings. Gilroy is 4-4-1, a smidge ahead of Sobrato. Further back are Lincoln, Pioneer and Willow Glen. The Bulldogs finish up the schedule with Willow Glen and Lincoln, while the Mustangs must face the top two, the Acorns and the Chargers.
Over the last two years, Sobrato was just 5-22 overall, 4-20 in league play. This year is very different.
Sobrato won 6-5 at Lincoln, 8-3 at Pioneer and 6-4 versus Willow Glen. The Bulldogs split two contests with Gilroy, losing on the road 5-1 and rallying to take the rematch 6-5 at home. That April 24 game was quite a thriller, with Sobrato erasing an early three-goal deficit.
“The comeback was great,” Craig said. “Our defense is key; they really got charged up. We put more pressure on individuals rather than just play zone.”
Midfielder Megan Dunning began the comeback with two goals early in the second quarter and then made the play of the game, scoring a third goal just 0:13 before halftime. For that, she made a long run with possession and then fired a laser into the net. The Mustangs’ advantage was trimmed to 4-3.
Addison Sutton, Sophie Ju and Maya Arcay led the Sobrato attack. Dunning sparkled in two-way play in the midfield, along with Caylee Lau, Nicole Richey and Sabrina Osmond. Goalie Rebekah Latin kept Gilroy off the board while the Bulldogs caught up.
She was partnered with defenders Brienne Nguyen, Olivia Khanna and Annie Bristol. Additional contributions came from Michelle Le, Brooke Yamut and Morgan Tran in the front and Sol’e Campos and Kirah Mistry on defense.
Sobrato continued the momentum surge after halftime. Lau knotted the contest at 4-4 with a bouncer, just 51 seconds into the third period. The game settled into a defensive rhythm after that.
Late in the quarter, Ju came through with a huge play, running downfield and firing in the go-ahead goal.
There were chances aplenty for both teams after that, but no scoring. With 1:24 left in the final period, Ju scored an insurance goal on a rebound and it was 6-4. A late Gilroy tally made the final 6-5.
“Sobrato’s a good team,” Gilroy coach Celeste Perales said. “They have really built up their program.”
The final two regular season games are at 7pm May 6 at Willow Glen and 5:30pm May 8 at home against Lincoln.
Boys make major strides
The Sobrato boys have made major strides upward this year. Resources, support and structure have been issues, but things are coming together and improving markedly under coach Ryan McDonald, a Christopher 2024 alum, who is in his first season as the head coach.
Fundraising has led to better equipment, and the team has gelled under McDonald’s energetic and positive coaching. Help has also come from Brad Ledwith, the founder of Morgan Hill’s youth lacrosse club, the South County Outlaws.
The Bulldogs achieved landmark success with their first-ever BVAL victories this year, beating Leland 4-3 on March 26 and whipping the Chargers 11-4 in an April 25 rematch. Sobrato also defeated LCPA 4-2, marking the season’s third victory.
The Bulldogs stand at 2-7 in league play, 3-15 overall. These illustrate the program’s growth after a three-year period with a 0-18 league record, 1-18 overall.
Additionally, Sobrato averages 3.9 goals per game in league play, allowing 9.7 a contest. Both numbers are significant improvements, as the league average last year was 1.0 versus 14.2.
“My players share the same strength, and it’s the innate ability to outperform everyone else under adversity, whether it be low numbers for the game that day, lack of resources and support in the past years or lack of a consistent coaching staff,” McDonald said. “These kids always find a way to prevail in their own ways. Not only that but my five captains have incredible leadership skills on and off the field.”
The captains are Tanner Pearson, Josh Young, Thor Vaillancourt, Nate Vigneri and Eric Schmall. McDonald also cited standout play from John Anderson, Madden Simoni and Elan Rodriguez.
In the 4-3 win over Leland, Vigneri and Pearson each scored two goals. In the 11-4 victory, Josh Young was on fire with seven goals. For the season, Young and Anderson are scoring leaders with 19 tallies each, with Pearson contributing 12 assists and Ricky Navarro providing 11 assists.
“All of my captains are either ranked highly in state or nationally,” McDonald said. “Eric Schmall is ranked No. 18 in the nation and No. 1 in CIF, California and BVAL for his save rate of 0.700 with 318 saves this season. Thor and Nate are ranked in CIF No. 5 (Thor) and No. 11 (Nate) for takeaways and No. 1 (Thor) and No. 4 (Nate) in CCS and BVAL for takeaways.”
McDonald states that the key to success has been the entire team’s perseverance to overcome limitations. He cited the partnership of the coaching staff and players as another important component.
McDonald works to create a loose but structured environment, where humor is encouraged, while simultaneously keeping the team’s focus on the game.
“Our team is chock full of hardworking kids every year,” McDonald said. “This year, we have fought and pushed to turn that all around.”
Hard work off the field by McDonald and his coaches, especially Glenn Schmall, and boosters, has greatly helped up-level the program, team and morale. Additionally, McDonald raised the program and the players’ experiences by putting together a longer schedule with many more games than in past years.
“My players have worked more, fought harder, and learned faster than they have ever done before in any other previous season,” McDonald said.
