Field hockey looks to close season hot
By Hector Trujillo
As the Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) field hockey team enters the second half of the regular season, it looks to build off an impressive start that rivaled that of 2025 when it won nine of its first 11 games. SRHS began the 2026 season winning seven of its first eight games before a meeting versus La Costa Canyon on Sept. 8 that was ultimately postponed due to extreme heat. The team’s only loss at that point came in the West Coast Classic (WCC) field hockey tournament final on Aug. 22 against Torrey Pines, 1-0.
The team’s record was 8-1 as of print deadline.
“We are pretty young this year, so it’s really just taking our time walking through things a lot more,” said head coach Elizabeth Jacobs. “That includes working on set plays and showing the younger girls where they are supposed to be in certain situations.”
The team is made up of five sophomores, six juniors and six seniors led by the talents of Sammy Ippolito, who has already committed to Michigan State, and scored 14 of the 18 goals for Scripps Ranch during the two-day WCC. The Falcons followed up that impressive tournament performance with back-to-back shutout victories over La Jolla High on Sept.1 and Mt. Carmel High on Sept. 4 by 1-0 and 4-0 scores which also marked the sixth shutout up until that point thanks largely to the outstanding play of senior goalie Abby Martin and junior center defender Simi Wimmer.
“Last year we had a good run,” Jacobs said. “This year we are looking good. We only lost three seniors, and we have some really strong players who are stepping up and leading the way. We have Bishop’s circled on our calendar and still play them twice.”
Scripps Ranch High was eliminated by The Bishop’s School in the semifinal round of the 2025 CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoffs by a score of 4-0. The Falcons have 12 remaining games starting on Sept. 24 versus La Jolla High; with its next home match not coming until Oct. 3 against St. Ignatius. The first meeting versus Bishop’s will come on Oct. 8, which will be two days after taking on Mission Bay High School. Scripps Ranch High will then try to take advantage of a four-game homestand starting on Oct.13 versus Canyon Hills High and ending on Oct. 27 in the rematch with Bishop’s before the season finale at Canyon Hills High on Oct. 29.