MORGAN HILL -- Live Oak field hockey coach Gina Sanders has a delicious deal with her players.
"If they score a goal in the first five minutes of a game, I have to take them out for ice cream," she said. "Anything to help get them to win."
Sanders explained it with a smile and a hint of dead seriousness. After opening the regular season with three close losses and a 1-1 tie, her Lady Acorns got their just desserts Tuesday, beating Monta Vista 1-0 in a Blossom Valley Athletic League-Santa Teresa Division game at Live Oak High School.
The lone score came off of the stick of Amanda Whitling in the first half -- fourth minute.
"I guess I have to take them out now," Sanders laughed afterward. "I'm just glad we finally got our first win in league."
Live Oak (1-3-1 BVAL) had come agonizingly close to doing so in past weeks only to fall a goal or two short. The opportunities were there, Sanders said, and the players knew it.
"It's been really frustrating," said Julia Hartl, who got the assist on Whitling's goal. "We just weren't coming together when we needed to.
"Our confidence was still pretty high. We knew we could score and win games."
The Acorns didn't waste time Tuesday. Whitling found the back of the net with her team's first shot of the game, taking a give-and-go feed from Hartl off of a corner then backhanding the ball past goalkeeper Rhian Hardee.
"I got a great pass and just flicked it in," Whitling said.
Live Oak outshot the Matadors 11-4 and forced a dozen corner, including four short corners. Brooke Willis led the Acorns with her game-high four shots, and Whitling added three.
Live Oak goalkeeper Hayley Hamilton made a pair of saves on the way to collecting her first shutout in league play this year. Her two stops came during a short corner in the first half, when Monta Vista's Kaede Hamilton knifed a shot through traffic, and Erin Chiu followed with a rebound try from five yards out.
"Hayley had a great game for us," Sanders said. "We didn't have to rely on our defense as much because we did such a good job controlling the ball, especially late in the game."
The Acorns increased their offensive pressure in the second half, totaling seven shots and nine corners. They came close to pushing ahead 2-0 in the sixth minute when Sarah Bernardini sent a long pass to the stick of Willis, who just missed a shot from seven yards out.
"We wanted to keep scoring," Whitling said. "You can't just sit back. You've got to keep trying."
As a player and coach at Live Oak, Sanders has learned no lead is safe.
"When you get into league play, the intensity picks up," she said. "If you make a mistake, any team can score on you at any time."
Crissy Stuart made the Matadors final attempt at pulling even in the 18th minute after a long corner. Stuart, who tallied a team-high two shots, one-timed a try that went wide of the net.
Hardee made one save in the first half, and Mariel Little collected two in the second for Monta Vista, which fell to 0-4-1 in division play.
The Acorns have eight league games remaining, starting with a 2:45 p.m. home game today against Lynbrook.
Scott J. Adams Scott J. Adams covers Morgan Hill sports for South Valley Newspapers. Send him an email or call him at 779-4106.
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