El Capitan will play for Division III section water polo title

Hope Stokes compared El Capitan’s semifinal matchup against top seed El Camino to walking on a tightrope.

“One missed step and you fall,” Stokes said. “We definitely had to keep our balance with defense and offense.”

The Gauchos made it safely to the other side as Stokes scored two goals in overtime and fourth-seeded El Capitan (22-6) outlasted El Camino 12-11 in overtime in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals Tuesday morning at Johansen High School.

In just their second varsity season, the Gauchos will play for a section championship against No. 2 Kimball on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Roseville Aquatics Complex.

“It’s really amazing,” said Stokes, who led El Capitan with five goals and four steals. “We doubted ourselves in the beginning because they were the No. 1 seed and we struggled against the No. 5 seed. But we pulled together.”

The Gauchos easily could have slipped off the tightrope during a game that was competitive throughout. No team led by more than one until Stokes scored her second overtime goal with 12.5 seconds left in the first three-minute overtime period.

El Capitan had to battle through 14 ejections, limiting the Eagles (22-8) to five goals in 14 man-up situations. With so many key players in foul trouble, the Gauchos were forced to play zone defense at the end of the fourth quarter and both overtime periods.

Stokes had to battle her own demons after missing a penalty shot near the end of the third quarter. Instead of El Capitan taking a one-goal lead into the fourth quarter, El Camino called a timeout and Rebecca Robinson lofted a shot into the goal at the buzzer to give the Eagles a 7-6 lead.

“It was tough,” said Stokes, whose penalty shot hit the left post. “I was so excited to get the penalty and drawing it myself. After I missed it, I just wanted to break down and stop. But I knew my teammates wouldn’t do that so I couldn’t.”

All Stokes did was take over the game in the fourth quarter and overtime.

After drawing a foul beyond 5 meters, Stokes buried a shot to tie the score 7-7 with 6:18 left in the game. Stokes delivered a shot from outside at the shot-clock buzzer a few minutes later to pull the Gauchos even at 8-all.

After El Camino again took a 9-8 lead on one of Christine Wiley’s five goals, Stokes delivered a no-look, over-the-shoulder pass to freshman Evie Mumford, whose goal tied the game 9-9 with 1:09 left.

“That’s Hope being mentally tough,” El Capitan coach Kristie Dunham said. “It’s like OK, we missed that penalty shot, let’s move on.”

It wasn’t all Stokes, though.

Marion Carpenter drew five ejections to set up El Capitan with crucial man-up situations. The Gauchos scored three goals with a one-man advantage.

Goalie Toni Perez was big in the cage again, stopping nine shots, including some highlight saves.

“This was huge for us,” Perez said. “This is what we’ve been working for all season. We’re super excited all our hard work has paid off.”

The Gauchos’ ability to score from outside also played a big role. Alexandria Jasso’s goal from the wing came in the final minute of the first half to tie the score 4-4.

Trailing by one in the final minute, Metztli Enriquez fired a shot from about 10 meters away to send the game to overtime tied 10-all.

“Our ability to shoot from outside was huge,” Dunham said. “Not a lot of high school players can do that, and I have multiple players who can. Alex Jasso’s shot in the right corner, high, is a quality shot. We had a bunch of those today.”

Stokes was the star in overtime, scoring on a backhand goal to give El Capitan its first lead since the first quarter at 11-10 with 1:28 left. The Western Athletic Conference MVP added another goal from outside to extend the lead to 12-10 with 12.5 seconds left in the first overtime.

The two-goal lead allowed El Capitan to focus more on running the clock in the second three-minute overtime. Robinson scored her third goal of the game to pull El Camino within 12-11 with 1:35 left, but the Gauchos held the top seed scoreless the rest of the way.

“We showed a lot of composure in overtime,” Dunham said. “I feel we knew a little more how to handle that situation. We managed the clock. Hope scoring those two goals in overtime was like saying, ‘I’m going to do this.’

“For a second-year varsity program to reach the section finals says a lot about the commitment of my players.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 5:21 PM with the headline "El Capitan will play for Division III section water polo title."