Wednesday’s girls soccer game between Sobrato and Live Oak
provided the perfect setting for National Letter of Intent Day. It
was played under perfect weather at the Outdoor Sports Center,
Morgan Hill’s cathedral of soccer, and featured the city’s entire
2012 signing class. Live Oak’s soccer signees Tiffany Geer, Megan
Rauschnot and Sami Riolo celebrated it with a 1-0 victory as did
teammate Kirsten Doting, who has accepted a field hockey
scholarship to Pacific.
Wednesday’s girls soccer game between Sobrato and Live Oak provided the perfect setting for National Letter of Intent Day. It was played under perfect weather at the Outdoor Sports Center, Morgan Hill’s cathedral of soccer, and featured the city’s entire 2012 signing class.
“It feels really special,” said Sobrato’s Mercer-bound keeper Maggie Cropp, one of five local seniors who will play at the NCAA Division I level next year. “It’s something fun that we all got to share together.”
Live Oak’s soccer signees Tiffany Geer, Megan Rauschnot and Sami Riolo celebrated it with a 1-0 victory as did teammate Kirsten Doting, who has accepted a field hockey scholarship to Pacific. Riolo and Rauschnot have signed with San Jose State, and Geer with San Diego State.
“It’s the best feeling and definitely a relief because we won today,” Doting said. “The best part was having the other girls in my class to share it with.”
Geer could hardly wait to fax her letter of intent Wednesday morning.
“They said I could sign starting at 7. I did it at 7:05. It was super exciting,” she said. “My dad and my mom were there taking photos. I was all nervous, thinking, ‘That’s my future right there on paper.’”
Geer committed to SDSU early last season.
“It’s beautiful there,” she says. “I love their style of play. It’s exactly how I want to play in the future, and the coaches were awesome. The (players) are really nice.”
Geer looks forward to playing against Rauschnot and Riolo in the Western Athletic Conference. The future Spartans like many of the same aspects of San Jose State’s program and plan to study sports management.
Two of their former Live Oak teammates, Amanda Morgan and Gladis Covarrubias, currently play there.
“It’s a great program, and it’s close to home,” says Rauschnot, who has five goals and six assists this winter but sat Wednesday’s game because of a back injury.
“The team is really close, just like here,” Riolo adds.
Cropp said signing with Mercer, located in Macon, Ga., was the highlight of her career.
“It was like, finally all my hard work has paid off, and I get to go somewhere and do what I love,” she says.
Doting, who earned Santa Teresa Division Senior of the Year honors for field hockey with five goals and eight assists, expects to make a smooth transition at Pacific.
“I feel like the players there are really connected. They’re the kind of people I’m used to playing with,” she said. “It’s a good fit for me.”
Geer was happy to get a win Wednesday and extend the Acorns’ unbeaten streak to six matches. The standout midfielder started at goalie in place of injured sophomore Macey Linder in each of those games.
Geer collected her fourth shutout with five saves Wednesday and still contributed to the attack; she took four direct kicks on the Bulldogs’ side of the field.
“Second half, I told her to take some chances and go for it,” Acorns coach Tony Vasquez said. “I’ve done it in the past, with the goalie shooting, and haven’t gotten scored on yet.
“The girls deserved to have some fun today after all the hard work they’ve put in over the last few years.”
Macey’s Dunne’s rebound shot in the 30th minute put Live Oak (9-3-1, 4-3-1) ahead for good. The Acorns protected the lead with strong defense, led by Riolo and Doting.
Both teams were hampered by injuries and struggled to maintain rhythm on offense.
Cropp stopped six shots.
“We were getting into their final third, but it wasn’t enough,” said Sobrato coach Paul Nishimatsu. “We needed to possess better today. But then again you need to give credit. Live Oak played really good defense.”
The Bulldogs (4-6-4, 2-4-2) have lost three straight, while the Acorns have continued to climb in the Mount Hamilton Division following a 0-3 start. That included a 2-1 loss to Sobrato on Jan. 6.
“I think we’re pretty much done with trying to win league. Leigh’s starting to run away with it,” Vasquez said. “It’s all about getting healthy right now before (sectionals) and being ready to make a big run.”
