Field Hockey: Daunting opponents cause early season frustration

The girls’ field hockey team kicked off its league season by facing two big rivals right off the bat.

On Sept. 22, the team faced off against Archbishop Mitty in the first home night game. In the first half, the girls came out strong and pulled off two quick goals—one by senior co-captain Anna Schroeder off of a short corner play, and one by junior midfielder Vanessa Block, who tipped the ball in after Schroeder took a shot. Mitty responded with a goal, and then senior midfielder Jordan Leonard scored making the half-time score 3-1.
In the second half, Mitty stepped up their game and scored two goals, while Saratoga had a scoreless half. With the game tied 3-3, they went into an overtime but after seven minutes, no one scored which ended the game as a tie.
“It was frustrating that they tied up the game.” said senior co-captain Sam Li. “We were dominating most of the game and we really should have won.”
On Sept. 24, the Falcons headed to Los Gatos to try to defeat their bitter rivals. However, Los Gatos was able to utilize their strong hitters and fast attackers and won the first half 1-0. Despite Saratoga’s efforts to get back in the game, Los Gatos put two more goals away and ended the game with a score of 3-0. This was Saratoga’s first loss of the season.
“Obviously it was disappointing, since we lost to our rivals,” said Block, “but we know what to expect next time we play them, and I think we’ll be able to beat them.”