Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Los Gatos seniors (left to right) Barbara Bellanca, Christy Schiefelbein, Alison Brown and Amanda Hardin completed their final field hockey season for the Wildcats.

Tough loss ends LG season a game short of CCS finals

By Dick Sparrer

It's tough to repeat as a Central Coast Section champion.

And the Los Gatos girls' field hockey team found out just how tough last week.

The Wildcats lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Mitty to come up a game short of the CCS finals.

Los Gatos lost in the Section semifinals a year after winning the CCS championship. The loss brought an end to the Gatos season, and what a season it was.

The Wildcats were 10-2 this fall and won the Mt. Hamilton Division championship in the Blossom Valley Athletic League. They opened the playoffs with a convincing 5-0 win over Homestead before losing the 1-0 decision to the Monarchs.

Barbara Bellanca knocked in three goals, and Christy Schiefelbein gave away four assists to lead the Cats to the big win over the Mustangs.

Liz Pegram and Amanda Hardin also scored goals for Gatos in the victory, and Catherine Breed and goalkeepers Jen Hentz and Anita Bruna starred defensively.

The Cats came back to fight Mitty to a scoreless tie in the first half, but a lone goal in the second half lifted the Monarchs to a win and a berth in the CCS title game.

The loss marked the end of the season for the Cats, and it was the final game for talented seniors Bellanca, Schiefelbein, Hardin and Alison Brown.

The Cats had just beaten Mitty 2-1 in league play a couple of weeks earlier. A first-half goal by Pegram helped the Cats knot the score 1-1 at the half, and Bellanca scored in the second half off an assist from Erin Robinson to give Gatos the win.

Los Gatos had clinched the division championship earlier in the week with a lopsided 4-0 victory over Live Oak.

The Cats and Acorns had battled to a scoreless tie in the first half, but Gatos broke things open with four goals in the second half.

Schiefelbein, Bellanca, Brown and Pegram each scored goals, and Hardin, Kathryn Breed and Radonich each dished off assists.

Los Gatos was coming off a 2-0 shutout win over rival Leigh. Pegram and Schiefelbein each scored goals for the Cats in the victory.

Los Gatos finished league play with a 9-1 record and went 1-1 in the post-season to wind up 10-2 overall. Bellanca led the club with 11 goals and Pegram finished with 10.