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 advance to CIF semifinals in field hockey

The Valley Center varsity field hockey team has scored only two goals in its last two games, but the Lady Jaguars were winners in both games, finishing out the regular season with a win over Canyon Crest Academy and starting off the post-season with a win over Helix.
The Lady Jags played at Canyon Crest on Nov. 2 in the final game of the regular season, and after scoring early, held on for a 1–0 win.
Laura Sengestacke scored the lone goal in the first half, and Danielle Moran made five saves in goal for Valley Center to get the victory.
The win gave the Lady Jaguars second place in the Valley League this season with a 19–6–1 overall record, and set them up with a home game to start the CIF playoffs.
Hosting Helix on Saturday, the Lady Jaguars again battled for an early goal in the first half and held on through a scoreless second half in a 1–0 win.
This time, the goal came from a penalty stroke by Jennifer Brossart after the Helix goalie sat on the ball before it crossed the goal line. Brossart put the shot in the right corner for the goal, and the Lady Jags didn’t look back.
“We were able to change the momentum after a slow start,” head coach Katy Moyneur said of the playoff win. “We got aggressive and goal-hungry, and in the second half, we dominated.”
The Lady Jaguars move on to the second round, where they will have played at La Jolla on Tuesday in a rematch of the regular season opener.
“We lost two-to-one in the first game, so it should be a good game,” Moyneur added. “We need to be aggressive and play the whole sixty minutes. We have flashes of greatness every game, but we need to play the whole game that way.”

Lady Jaguars bounce back for two shutout wins in field hockey

Rebecca Saletta controls the ball for the Lady Jags.
(photo by Cathy Schwickert)

What started out looking like a tough week for the Valley Center varsity field hockey team turned around into a good series of games for the Lady Jaguars, as they suffered a tough, one-goal loss to open the week, but rebounded for a pair of shutout wins.
The Lady Jags started out the week with a game at San Dieguito Academy last Tuesday, and despite playing a solid game, they gave up a late goal to take a 1–0 loss.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half, but San Dieguito Academy finally broke the scoreless tie with a goal in the second half.
Valley Center goalkeeper Danielle Moran made four saves in the game.
But the Lady Jaguars bounced back the following day, as they got the offense going in a big way to take a 5–0 win at Orange Glen.
After scoring only once in the first half, the Lady Jags opened the offensive floodgates for four goals in the second half to seal the big win.
Laura Sengestacke led the way with a hat trick, while Emily Sanders had a goal and an assist, Victoria Navarro had a goal, Kelly Hagadorn had two assists and Jackie Bishop had an assist. In goal, Moran made only one save to earn the shutout victory.
Playing their third game in three consecutive days, the Lady Jaguars hosted Del Norte on Thursday and held on for a 3–0 win.
This time, the Valley Center offense did all its damage early on, scoring three goals in the first half for an early lead. The Lady Jags clamped down on defense in the second half to preserve the win.
Cassidy Nowak scored twice to lead the Lady Jaguars, while Sengestacke scored the other Valley Center goal. Bishop, Hagadorn and Sanders each had an assist, while Moran made five saves in goal to get her second shutout of the week.
Valley Center is now 18-6-1 overall and 6-3 in league, with the regular season finale against Canyon Crest having taken place on Tuesday.

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

VC Field Hockey vs Chula Vista

Valley Center hosted Chula Vista in field hockey on Thursday, and after dominating the time of possession and putting a host of shots on goal, the Lady Jags came through with a 1-0 win. Here are a few highlights:

Victoria Navarro takes a shot after a corner:


Another VC corner leads to a shot by Kelly Hagadorn, a scramble in front of the net, and another shot from Hagadorn:


In the second half, Laura Sengestacke puts VC on the board with a goal off an assist from Hagadorn:


video by Dan Kidder