MORGAN HILL -- Friday's Mount Hamilton Division soccer match saw the Lady Acorns sliding, diving and kicking up mud on their soppy home turf.
It ended with them carefully tip-toeing to the sideline to savor a 2-0 win over league rival Willow Glen -- and their coach making sense of it.
"I hate the mud, but they seem to like it," Live Oak's Tony Vasquez said. "It helps and it hurts. Today, it slowed the game down, and that definitely helped us."
At times included every pass Amanda Morgan sent up top to Megan Rauschnot. The two cashed in for the first goal and nearly connected for two more in the opening half. Together, they showed why the Acorns opted to play Friday's game on natural mud -- er, grass. Last season, the Rams dashed Live Oak's playoff hopes for the second year in a row on artificial turf, scoring three goals in the closing minutes to win 3-2 at the Outdoor Sports Center.
The Acorns made the most of their true home-field advantage Friday. The through balls that would have rolled out of bounds on turf died at the corners, pitting the speed of Live Oak's front line against that of the Willow Glen fullbacks.
"It felt really easy to score today," said Morgan, who also set up a score goal by freshman Jada Williams in the 63rd minute. "Other teams can't really compare with Megan and our forwards. Megan can move to the ball and get a good shot off from anywhere."
In the seventh minute, Rauschnot outran Rams defenders Stephanie Owens and Dominique Ross before crossing to Fabi Diaz, whose shot was saved by a diving Maia Oman.
In the ninth minute, Tiffany Geer launched a ball that was tipped out of bounds, leading to a corner kick for Live Oak and, eventually, a 50/50 ball that Ross headed away.
Morgan passed long to Rauschnot again in the 26th minute. Rauschnot doubled back to the top of the penalty box, then fired a turnaround shot over net. The sophomore hit her target 11 minutes later. Rauschnot ran under a pass from Morgan, tipped the ball over Oman and toe-putted into the net.
"Amanda and Tiffany work on passing like that at practice," Rauschnot said. "They say if I'm there, they'll pass it."
The chemistry between midfielders and forwards has been key to the Acorns' scoring - and a main reason why Live Oak (9-3-4 overall, 7-2-1 league) leads the chase for the Mount Hamilton championship with four games left. Friday's win kept the Acorns - ranked No. 15 by the San Jose Mercury News - tied with Leigh for the top spot.
"It's a good feeling to be where we are," said Morgan, a junior. "The fact that we beat Willow Glen twice is gratifying. I wish we could have done it last year."
The top four finishers make the cut for sectionals, but Live Oak is set on taking first.
"It started with just wanting to make CCS, now we feel like we'll let our whole community down if we don't win league," Rauschnot said. "It's a lot of pressure, but it's nice. We want to be the best."
Williams' goal came after Morgan dropped the ball to Kirsten Doting, who then sent it long to Sabrina Rice. Rice found Williams open to the right of the net, and Williams tucked her shot inside the near post.
The Rams (6-7-2, 4-5) were on the offensive for most of the second half but produced few scoring opportunities.
Acorns goalkeeper Selena Braun made three saves and punched away two crosses to preserve the shutout.
"For the way the field was playing, I thought that we played well," Vasquez said. "On our field, those long passes worked; on turf, no."
Sobrato 3, Overfelt 0
Jennae Cambra tallied her 16th and 17th goals of the season, Nika Burnett added a score, and Maggie Cropp made six saves Friday as the Lady Bulldogs earned some breathing room in the Santa Teresa Division.
At 7-2-6 overall and 5-1-4 in league, they lead second-place Prospect by less than two games with four matches remaining.
The visiting Royals (2-6-4, 0-4-2) remained winless in league.
Sobrato hosts Piedmont Hills on Wednesday.
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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