Despite losing one of its two games on a goal that came off of a questionable call, coach Sandie Marotti-Huckins was very happy with the play of her Davis High girls field hockey team on Friday and Saturday.

The Blue Devils started off by heading to San Jose for a road matchup against Branham, Marotti-Huckins’ alma mater. The coach’s new team beat her old team, 5-0 behind two goals each from Kylie Drexel and Emily Barber and a sweet score by Kayla Robinson off a corner. Drexel, Robinson, Malia Fujisawa and Natalie Silver all had assists in the Friday victory.

Even with only two subs making the trip with DHS, the Devils did not look tired on Saturday at Archbishop Mitty, one of the top teams in the Bay Area. In fact, according to Marotti-Huckins, Mitty called a timeout just five minutes into the contest because “they didn’t know what to do with us.”

The well-play, competitive match remained scoreless into the final minutes, when Archbishop Mitty was awarded a penalty stroke that it converted for a 1-0 win. On the play, the ball was deflected by a Blue Devil defender then hit another DHS player in the leg. The referee’s called it an intentional body block, and awarded the stroke.

But it was still a good day for the Devils, who had lost to Mitty, 5-0, last season.

“We played really well,” Marotti-Huckins said, adding that the defense of Silver, Fujisawa and goalie Ally Weir was tremendous on Saturday. “It was a good, tough weekend to get us ready for the (Eastern Athletic League) tournament.”

The league event this weekend, which is hosted by Davis, is next for the Devils, who had their Monday road game at Lassen changed to be part of tournament play.

DHS boys water polo

Facing some of the best prep teams in the entire country, the Blue Devils used a team effort to play well in each game, finishing 13th at the North-South Challenge tournament in Menlo Park.

DHS started with a tough matchup against El Toro, the fifth-ranked D-I team in the Southern Section, and fell 13-7. The match was closer than the score indicates as Brad Nicholson’s hat trick helped the Devils to within 10-7 after three period.

A late comeback by Menlo High doomed Davis in the next outing, a 9-8 loss. DHS led for most of the contest — behind three goals from Garrett Fisk and two from Connor Stapleton — but couldn’t hang on.

That would be the last time the locals would lose, as wins over Villa Park (12-6) and Menlo Atherton (14-7) put the Blue Devils at 15-6 overall. Stapleton scored seven goals in each victory.

“We demonstrated continued progress in our goal of having a more balanced attack and a more active defense,” DHS coach Tracy Stapleton said. “Connor Stapleton continues to demonstrate his all-around skill and leadership (and) … Bradley Nicholson and Tyler Ujifusa continue to show progress offensively and well as defensively.

“Additionally, Conrad McCarthy, Garrett Fisk and Graham Fullerton have continued to improve. (Goalie) Jeff Stark did a good job, bouncing back from a tough second game, to finish the tournament strong. Sam Burke and Zac Anderson provided valuable minutes as did Valente Dolcini and Chad Prizmich.”

DHS boys soccer

Collin Holtz scored twice and recent JV call-up Raunak Manandhar added a goal and an assist as the Blue Devils defeated Laguna Creek, 4-1, on the road Thursday.

DHS (10-4-5) improved to 5-0-3 in Delta Valley Conference play, despite captain Lee Leverrier sitting out most of the contest because of injuries. Team officials expect him to be close to full strength by the time the Devils host Monterey Trail on Tuesday (3:30 p.m.)

Manadhar’s tally — which came on a rebound after Ian Soffos’ shot hit the cross bar — was Davis’ first goal on Thursday, and the sophomore got an assist on Holtz’s first score. Later, Alex Herman found the net before Holtz’s second goal finished off the local scoring.

“I thought we played very well both defensively and offensively,” said Blue Devil coach Alex Park. “We had good ball possession.”

DHS boys lacrosse

Registration for the Davis High boys lacrosse is open now at www.davislacrosse.org.

Club officials ask that all interested players, grades nine through 12, sign up before the end of October.

There will be a parent/athlete meeting on Nov. 14 from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. at Harper Junior High, 4000 E. Covell Blvd.

For additional information, contact Lydia at [email protected].

Spring lacrosse

Registration for all Davis Lacrosse Association spring teams is now open at www.davislax.org.

In the sport’s primary season, the DLA will have teams for boys and girls in multiple age groups. Practices start by early February and games will be played from March through May.

Registration costs $275 to $400 per player, with scholarship assistance available, players must obtain their own equipment and each athlete must be members of U.S. Lacrosse for a $25 annual fee.

Team sizes are limited, so early registration is encouraged.

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