Branham scores with seven minutes left in regulation to beat SHS
1-0
MORGAN HILL — Following their 1-0 loss to Branham on Friday at the Outdoor Sports Center, there was a hint of frustration among the Sobrato field hockey players.
That the visiting Bruins own the second-best record (6-1) in the West Valley Division didn’t comfort the Lady Bulldogs (3-5), nor did the fact that they were seven minutes away from going into overtime.
They know they can beat teams like Branham.
“We didn’t have to change anything today,” Sobrato coach Niki Donaldson said. “We just had to keep our heads in it.”
Alas, the Bruins prevailed with Gabby Jordan’s one-timer off a pass from Kacey Gricius in the 53rd minute.
That followed an exciting five minutes in which the Bulldogs took four shots on net. They had their best chance to score first in the 49th minute, when a long pass turned into a 2 on 1 for Sobrato’s Brianna Sugimoto and Katie Merten. Sugimoto beat her defender to the ball and slapped it across field to Merten. Branham goalkeeper Maddy Davis broke up the pass, though, starting the counter-attack that led to Jordan’s goal.
“We were trying to get the ball up field as far as we could,” Sobrato junior Andrea Salem said. “We could handle them defensively.”
Led by Dawn Watts, the Bulldogs’ backline did an impressive job clogging Branham’s passing lanes without surrendering many short corners; the Bruins had four total. Sobrato goalkeeper Kristin Wallash totaled nine saves, including three in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
“We played good defense today,” said Watts, a junior. “We held them up. We need to work on getting the ball up field with more consistency.”
The Bulldogs had Branham on its heels early on, forcing three corners in the opening 12 minutes. Following a pass from Amanda Priest off a short corner, Mertin set up a clean shot for Katelyn Goyette in the fourth minute. Goyette’s shot knifed through a screen in front of the cage but missed the goal mouth by less than a foot.
