CHULA VISTACHULA VISTA — Torrey Pines gave the MaxPreps No. 9 field hockey team, No. 1 in California, all they could handle, but fell 41 seconds short.
That’s when Scripps Ranch’s Kelsey McGrattan took a corner kick from classmate Julianne Sue and rifled it in the Torrey Pines goal for the 1-0 victory Saturday in the San Diego Section Open Division field hockey final at Hilltop High School.
It is the third straight Open Division crown for Scripps (19-2-1).
“We didn’t want to wait so long,” exclaimed McGrattan, who will graduate without ever losing a playoff game. “It’s crazy winning this three times in a row, especially playing with all my friends.
“I shot it and couldn’t tell if it was deflected or what, but it went in!”
Torrey Pines (23-4) actually dominated most of the game. In this battle of the Falcons, they outshot the defending champions 11-3. The Scripps Ranch defense and goalie Kylee Del Monte, who finished with four saves, kept them in the fight.
“They (Torrey) kept coming but our defense saved us,” said longtime Scripps Ranch coach Jane Morrill, who informed the team after the game she was stepping down, but not going far.
RBV 1, La Costa Canyon 0
The Longhorns (13-13) claimed the first field hockey championship in school history by downing No. 2 seed La Costa Canyon (12-14) 1-0 in the Division I Final.
The winning score for the fifth-seeded Longhorns came with 2:30 left in the third quarter as senior D’Lainey Nakamoto and freshman Emilia Waldrop each poked at the ball in front of the Mavericks’ goal.
“We were both definitely there,” said Nakamoto, a team co-captain who was credited with the score. “It’s good just to know we’re the first team in our school history to win a CIF title.”
“I played at Rancho and we never won anything,” said coach Ariana Leese. “These girls played their butts off. At the start of the season people said we’d never get here but we turned it around when we beat Westview for the first time ever and everything has clicked since then.”
RBV outshot the Mavericks 11-2. Goalie Avery Laws came up with five beautiful saves to keep La Costa Canyon in the game.
Valley Center 1, Mt. Carmel 0
Playing without 24-goal scorer Lauren Stehly, Desiree Jones stepped in to punch in the only goal of the game’s 10th minute to lead the No. 6 Jaguars (18-1) past fourth-seeded Mt. Carmel (17-8-1) in the Division II final.
“This feels so good; it’s my first year on varsity,” said Jones after scoring her 13th goal of the year. “I have to it, at the beginning of the season I didn’t expect we’d make it this far.”
Savanna Morrissette got the assist on the goal coming on a scramble in front of the Sundevils goal.
Farmer is a freelance writer.
