Lady Falcons capture NCS lacrosse title Lady Falcons capture NCS lacrosse title (May 28, 2004)

Dons avenge loss to Foothill
by Heidi Massie

In a nail-biting finish Saturday, the Foothill girls varsity lacrosse team won the first-ever North Coast Section Girls Lacrosse Championship over Acalanes 12-11. The championship was decided in the final seconds of the game when Acalanes was awarded a penalty shot that could have tied the game. Falcon goalie Shari Brokowsky was the lone player defending the Foothill lead. Fortunately for Brokowsky, the shot was shot wide and Foothill got the win.

Foothill maintained its unbeaten record, now at 21-0-1, and No. 1 rank in the state. Leading the way for the Falcons were Sarah Rachmiel and Cristen Andrews, each scoring four goals. Ali Kaye, Jaime Oetman, Carrie Andrews and Hayley Saxton each added a goal. Cristen Andrews also had two assists.
Baseball

Before an overflow crowd at Amador last Friday, the Dons upended the Falcons 5-1, and advanced to post-season play riding a three-game winning streak. With the win, Amador advanced to NCS playoffs as the No. 9 seed, and Foothill lost out on a league co-championship. After an embarrassing 18-1 loss against Foothill in the first half of the season, the Dons looked to avenge that loss, especially the seniors.

The game began as a tense pitchers' duel, as Amador starter Rob Learned and Foothill starter R.W. Smith matched scoreless frames through four innings. Foothill scored first on a solo home run in the top of the fifth, but the Dons came back immediately as they batted around in the bottom of the inning.

Travis Knuppe got it started with a leadoff single followed by Mike Purpura's run to first after a sacrifice bunt. Then Stephen Gatehouse loaded the bases with a single, and Chris Lewis grounded to the shortstop who could not out-throw Knuppe's run home. Brett Holt ripped a single to left to bring home Purpura, and Brett Zollman hit a drive to deep left-center that scored two runs. Craig Sewall knocked in the final run with a sacrifice fly.

The Dons finished the regular season with a 16-9 record, 6-6 in league.
Track and Field

The Foothill boys track and field team is sending several athletes to the NCS Meet of Champions at Berkeley that begins today and continues tomorrow. Following last Saturday's EBAL Championship meet, six teammates will compete in hopes to advance to the state meet next weekend in Sacramento.

Competing for Foothill are Connor McCabe in the 100 and 200 meters, Stephan Johnston in the 800, Andrew Galbraith who finished first in the high jump, Andrew Shaffer in long jump, Frank Jones for shot put and discus, and Eric Tannahill for pole vault. Katie Fryman will go it alone for the Lady Falcons in the 800.

Amador's Kyle Montgomery will also compete in the Meet of Champions as he took first in the triple jump at EBAL, breaking Amador's school record. Joining Montgomery are Matt Parken in the 400, Justin Tunberg in the 800, the 4x400 relay team, and the 4x100 relay team who finished first at EBAL. The girls 4x400 relay team also qualified for NCS.
JV Softball

Foothill's JV softball team ended its regular season as EBAL co-champions with Livermore. Foothill's 8-0 win over rival Amador on May 20 ended the Falcons' season with an overall record of 25-1, 11-1 in the league.

Jessica Seitz pitched the first six innings, striking out five while walking none. Leading the offense was Alissa Murphy who went three for four with an RBI and a run scored, and Kelly Wolfe with two RBIs and two runs scored. Brea Hoffman, Tina Coe and Seitz also contributed to the winning score.
Games scheduled week 5/28 - 6/3
Friday Baseball NCS Championships, second round, TBA
Softball NCS Championships semi-finals, TBA
Track and Field NCS Meet of Champions, UC Berkeley, all day
Saturday Baseball NCS Championships, second round, TBA
Softball NCS Championships semi-finals, TBA
Track and Field NCS Meet of Champions, UC Berkeley, all day

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