Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Working the ball down the field in the CCS field hockey finals in Prospect's Amber Madsen. Prospect played Los Gatos tough in the championship game before losing a tough 2-0 decision to the Wildcats.
Hockey crown goes to Cats
But Prospect plays Los Gatos tough in final
By Dick Sparrer
JoNina Cross could hold off the powerful Los Gatos offensive onslaught only so long.
But the Gatos field hockey team didn't get to the Central Coast Section championship game by not scoring goals. And the Wildcats, who had beaten Willow Glen and Mitty to get into those finals, found a way to score two second-half goals last Monday (Nov. 22) to win the CCS championship.
Cross, the talented Prospect goalkeeper who has put up big save numbers for the Panthers all season long, managed to hold down the powerful Wildcats in the first half.
But senior Heather Kottmeier knocked in a penalty stroke in the second half to break the scoreless tie and start the Wildcats on their way to the CCS title-clinching victory.
Los Gatos added an insurance goal later in the half when a Nikki Anderson pass set up Rachel Lichte for the goal that all but secured the 2-0 victory for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats, 12-1-2 for the year, secured their fourth CCS championship of the decade with the win. But it certainly didn't come easy for the Cats, who had to go to penalty strokes to pull out a first round CCS win over Willow Glen after clinching their league championship with a tie against Prospect.
The Cats had earned their place in the CCS playoffs by winning the title in the well-balanced Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.
Los Gatos beat both Mitty and Saratoga twice during league play, and beat Willow Glen twice, too, but both times by slim one-goal margins.
The Wildcats had a tougher time with both Prospect and Lynbrook during the league season. The Cats lost 4-2 to the Panthers, their only loss of the season, and they managed a win and a tie against the Vikings.
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Prospect's Amber Madsen and Cameron Kato (kneeling) show their disappointment after a tough 2-0 field hockey loss to Los Gatos in the CCS finals. But the Panthers have no reason to be disappointed after a sensational 1999 season.
The league championship came down to a head-to-head matchup between Los Gatos and Prospect, and the Cats won the title by tying the Panthers 1-1.
The Wildcats took a 9-1-2 season record into the CCS playoffs and opened against league rival Willow Glen. The Rams fought the Cats to a 2-2 tie, but Gatos won 3-2 on penalty strokes to advance.
Los Gatos then blanked Mitty 1-0 to move into the finals against Prospect.
Prospect, 12-2-4 for the year, followed a similar path to the CCS finals. The Panthers were second in the division, beating Saratoga twice, but splitting 1-0 decisions with Lynbrook. They had a win and a tie against Willow Glen, Mitty and Los Gatos, but it was that extra tie that cost Prospect the title.
Prospect moved into the CCS playoffs and destroyed Monta Vista 3-0 before edging St. Francis 1-0 to move into the finals. But the Panthers lost to Los Gatos in the title game, only their second loss of the season.
It was appropriate that Lichte, Anderson and Kottmeier led the offensive attack for the Cats in the championship round, since they joined with Anita Reyes, Cortney Kelly and Emily Scott as top offensive players all season for Los Gatos.
Kataya Dara, Lindsay Erickson and Jessica Egan also figured among the Gatos leaders in the CCS championship season.
Cross, the talented junior keeper for the Panthers, led the effort on the defensive end of the field for Prospect this season. At the other end, it was top goal scorers Cameron Kato, Tiffany Mine, Amber Madsen and Alex Harkins and assist leader Samantha Robertson leading the offense.
Brook Madsen, Nancy Vo, Young Pham, Kate Rainey, Stephanie Marshall and Jenny Tran were other top players for the Panthers.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
