SRHS field hockey looks toward strong season
By Hector Trujillo
After starting the regular season with back to back nail-biting 1-0 victories over La Costa Canyon and La Jolla High School, the Scripps Ranch High School field hockey team looks to make another run into the playoffs. Scripps Ranch also hopes to use the experience from last season, when it finished 15-9-1 overall before falling in the quarterfinal round to Canyon Hills, in order to help propel the team with about two thirds of the season remaining.
“It’s early and we’ve had lots of opportunities, so hopefully they fall as the season goes on,” said head coach Elizabeth Jacobs.
The first chance at revenge for the Lady Falcons will come on Oct. 4 when the team travels to face Canyon Hills before the rematch at home on Oct. 23.
“We play them twice because we’re in the same league,” Jacobs said. “This year we’re also traveling up to Northern California to play three teams up there, so all three of those should be good competition as well. It’s always good to get up there and play someone a little bit different. Every other year we go up there, or a couple of them come down here.”
Those three matches will be on Oct. 18 versus St. Ignatius College Preparatory School, followed by a meeting with Archbishop Mitty High School and Los Gatos High School both on Oct. 19.
Scripps Ranch is led by seven seniors including the talented Brooke Griffin, Natalie Piper, Ava Schramm and Zoe Allen, along with the efforts of sophomores Abby Martin and CJ Ippolito.
“A big goal of ours last year was to come out hard in the first quarter and so we’re putting a bigger emphasis on that,” said Jacobs, who is in her third year as head coach after serving as assistant coach on and off for the past 15 seasons.
Of the 13 remaining games left for the Lady Falcons, only four will be at home starting with the one against University City High on Sept. 25, then versus Cathedral Catholic High on Oct. 9, followed by the second meeting against Canyon Hills, and then a match versus The Bishop’s School on Oct. 30.
Scripps Ranch closes the regular season on Nov. 1 in the rematch against Cathedral Catholic, which they defeated both times in 2023, including a dramatic 2-1 overtime road win.