The Sacred Heart Prep girls got an early start to the Central Coast Section Division III soccer playoffs and made the most of the opportunity to post a 7-0 romp over visiting Pacific Collegiate on Tuesday in Atherton.
The Gators (17-2-2) opened with a No. 6 seed and the visitors (8-5-4) from Santa Cruz came in with a No. 11 seed. The teams were not that close in talent as Sacred Heart Prep rolled to a 5-0 halftime lead.
It took only two minutes for freshman Olivia Athens and senior Alex Bourdillon to hook up for the first goal, with Bourdillon getting the tally.
Athens was involved in the next two scores, as well. She scored in the ninth minute off an assist from sophomore Tierna Davidson and added another goal, unassisted, just a minute later.
In the 12th minute, Riley Shanahan took a pass from fellow sophomore Carey Bradley and made it 4-0 before Davidson added a goal just two minutes later to send the Gators into intermission with a big lead.
Sacred Heart Prep finished things off with freshman Cameron Gordon scoring in the 50th minute and senior Maddy Jones making it 7-0 in the 76th minute after a corner kick by Blair Hamilton, who started in goal and finished on the field.
The score would have been more lopsided, but the Gators were called offside on nearly a dozen occasions.
The Gators will have a much tougher test in the quarterfinals on Saturday when they visit No. 3 Burlingame (12-3-5) at 10 a.m. SHP will take on the Panthers without freshman standout Katie Harrison, who suffered a torn ACL in practice two weeks ago.
Should Sacred Heart Prep get by Burlingame, it likely will face No. 2 seed Live Oak in the semifinals.
Also in Division III, No. 12 Priory (7-9-1) opens play Wednesday at home (weather permitting) against No. 5 Harbor (10-4-4) at 3 p.m. Menlo School (15-3-2) is off until Saturday after receiving the No. 1 seed.
In Division I girls’ action, No. 9 Menlo-Atherton (10-5-5) is scheduled to visit No. 8 Santa Teresa (9-6-5) on Wednesday at 3 p.m. Palo Alto (10-4-5), the No. 2 seed, has a bye into Saturday’s quarterfinals.
The Menlo-Atherton and Sacred Heart Prep boys, meanwhile, hope to get their title hopes under way Wednesday.
The Bears (11-5-2) are seeded No. 7 in Division I and will host No. 10 Santa Clara (9-4-7) at 6 p.m. The Gators (14-5-1) are No. 10 in Division III and host No. 7 Scotts Valley (11-3-4) at 3 p.m.
Baseball
Menlo School opened its 2014 campaign with a 7-5 nonleague victory over host Gunn on Tuesday. Gunn pitchers walked seven and hit two, while the Knights stole nine bases and got three RBI from designated hitter Macklan Badger as they held on to defeat the Titans, despite being outhit nine to five.
Menlo used three pitchers, with senior Wyatt Driscoll picking up his first varsity win and sophomores Ryland Pade and Davis Rich making their first varsity appearances successful ones as closed out the Menlo win.
Both Menlo and Gunn now begin play in the Tim Kuehnert Memorial Tournament with the Knights opening play on Thursday against San Mateo at 3:15 p.m. and then the Titans on Saturday against Woodside at Sacred Heart Prep at 2 p.m.
In San Francisco, Palo Alto opened its season with a 5-3 nonleague loss at St. Ignatius on Tuesday. The Vikings committed five errors, which led to three unearned runs for the Wildcats, who outhit the Vikings, 9-3. Paly pitchers Brian Kannappan and Chris Smith combined for seven strikeouts.
Girls lacrosse
The Sacred Heart Prep girls opened their 2014 season on Tuesday night with a 14-8 nonleague victory over host Foothill in Pleasanton. The Gators were led in scoring by sophomores Libby Muir (six goals) and Ally Mayle (five goals, one assist). Senior Kiana Cacchione and sophomore Drew Learner added one goal each.
Boys tennis
Palo Alto swept the doubles on the way to a season-opening 6-1 tennis victory over host Woodside on Tuesday. Seniors Jack Paladin and Adi Mahadevan led the way in doubles with a 6-0, 6-2 victory. George He and Raymond Li swept at No. 2 while Kevin Huang and Gabriel Mechali did likewise at No. 3. Paly allowed just six points in doubles.
In a SCVAL De Anza Division opener, Gunn dropped a 5-2 decision to visiting Los Gatos.
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports