Lady Jaguars fall in second round of field hockey playoffs

After dominating on defense in a series of shutouts to close out the regular season, the Valley Center varsity field hockey team eked out another one-goal shutout to win its first CIF Division II playoff game and scored big in the second round, but couldn’t come up with a goal to take a close loss in the semifinals.
The Lady Jaguars won their final three regular season games without giving up a goal, while racking up a total of nine goals over that stretch to ride into the playoffs on a wave of momentum.
In the first round, the Lady Jags downed Helix at home, 1–0, setting up a quarterfinal match at La Jolla.
Valley Center finally conceded its first goal in four games, but the Lady Jaguars scored plenty of their own in taking a 4–2 win.
Kelly Hagadorn led the way with a goal and an assist, while Victoria Navarro, Laura Sengestacke and Chelsea Dyer each added a goal. Danielle Moran made four saves in goal to get the win.
But the Lady Jags’ season came to an end on Thursday, as they traveled to San Dieguito Academy and came up on the short end of a 1–0 loss in the semifinals.
San Dieguito put pressure on the Lady Jaguars early, keeping the ball in the Valley Center defensive zone for most of the first half. But the Lady Jags held strong, sweeping aside chance after chance. In goal, Moran came up huge with a save on a penalty stroke after a near score, as she stuck her left hand out and knocked the shot away.
The Lady Jaguars came close to a goal when Sengestacke ripped a shot that clanged off the post, but San Dieguito cleared the ball away to end the threat.
The Lady Mustangs finally broke through late in the first half, as they kept the ball in the offensive zone, earned a penalty corner, put a shot on goal that was saved, then punched in a rebound to get on the board.
Valley Center came right back with an offensive charge late in the half, but couldn’t score on a pair of penalty corners and trailed by one at halftime.
The second half unfolded much the same way as the first half, as the Lady Jags couldn’t get the ball out of their own zone. The few chances Valley Center did manage to get were closely watched by the San Dieguito defense, and the Lady Jags couldn’t manage to get a shot on goal.
Valley Center furiously put together a flurry of chances late in the game, but San Dieguito held on and took the win.
The Lady Jaguars finish the season with a record of 18–6–1 and a league record of 5–2.

Lady Jags split two games in field hockey

The Valley Center varsity field hockey team split a pair of games this week, winning the first game in convincing fashion before falling by a goal in overtime in the second.
The Lady Jaguars opened the week with a Valley League game at Del Norte and kept the offensive pressure on throughout the game to take a 4–1 win.
Kelly Hagadorn and Victoria Navarro each had a goal and an assist, while Cassidy Nowak and Chelsea Dyer each added a goal in the game.
But the Lady Jags couldn’t hang on against Canyon Crest on Thursday and suffered a 2–1 loss in overtime.
Canyon Crest took the lead with a goal in the first half, but Valley Center came back to tie it up with a goal in the second half. Neither team could put the game-winner away in regulation, but Canyon Crest came up with a score in the extra period to take the win.
Emily Sanders scored the lone Valley Center goal on an assist from Hagadorn.
The Lady Jaguars are now 13–4–1 so far this season, with the next game coming at Mission Bay on Thursday at 3:15 p.m.

Lady Jags Keep Winning In Field Hockey

The Valley Center varsity field hockey team continued its stellar run to start the season, as the Lady Jaguars earned three big wins in three games this week.
The Lady Jags started out the week last Tuesday with a 3–1 win over San Marcos.
The two teams battled to a 1–1 tie at halftime, but Valley Center came through in the second half with two goals, while holding the Lady Knights scoreless, to take the win.
Kelly Hagadorn, Jackie Bishop and Chelsea Dyer each scored a goal, while Laura Sengestacke, Cassidy Nowak and Emily Sanders each had an assist. In goal, Danielle Moran made seven saves to get the win.
On Thursday, the Lady Jaguars hosted Orange Glen, and the Valley Center offense exploded for five goals in the first half en route to a 9–0 victory.
Valley Center scored its first three goals quickly, keeping Orange Glen off-balance with consistent pressure in front of the goalkeeper. Two more of the Lady Jags’ shots went in, but were disallowed, one for being a shot from outside the scoring circle and another because it bounced off the hand of a Valley Center player.
After taking a 5–0 lead at the break, the Lady Jaguars focused on defense to start the second half, but still dominated possession and kept the ball in the Orange Glen zone for the majority of the half. Good passing and outstanding pressure on the Lady Patriots’ goalie led to four more goals and a big win.
Victoria Navarro had two goals and an assist, while Bishop had a goal and two assists, Cassidy Nowak and Rebecca Saletta each had a goal and an assist, Sanders and Marisol Luna each had a goal and Hagadorn and Liz Loera each had an assist.
The final game of the week came on Friday at Mission Hills, and the Lady Jags battled through a tough first half to take a 2–0 win.
Neither team could break through in a scoreless first half, but Hagadorn found the back of the net twice for the Lady Jaguars in the second half to lead them to the win.
Navarro had an assist in the game, while Moran closed the door on the Lady Grizzlies for her second shutout of the week.
Valley Center is now 10–2–1 so far this season, with the next game coming at home against San Dieguito on Thursday at 3 p.m.





Photos by Ray Flores