Peninsula teams claim four of five spots in field hockey rankings

Stevenson, Carmel, Monterey and Santa Catalina hold four of the top five spots in the Monterey County Herald's weekly field hockey rankings, published Monday, Oct. 5.

The Pirates lead the rankings with a 10-4-2 overall record and a perfect 6-0 mark in the Pacific Coast Athletic League (PCAL), according to MaxPreps. Hollister holds the No. 2 spot. Carmel is No. 3, Monterey No. 4 and Santa Catalina No. 5. Greenfield and Salinas are listed on the bubble.

Stevenson leads the PCAL at 6-0 with wide margins of victory. The Pirates routed Salinas 9-0 on Sept. 11, beat Hollister 5-0 on Sept. 8 and topped Santa Catalina 5-0 on Sept. 23. They capped the stretch by winning the Havoc Tournament at UC Berkeley on Saturday, Oct. 3, defeating Davis Senior High 3-0.

Seniors Lotti Schulte and Greta Jungjohann have powered the Stevenson attack all season. Schulte recorded a hat trick in the Hollister win, and the pair each scored four goals in the rout of Salinas, as Monterey County Herald sports columnist John Devine reported on X. Both earned All-Tournament honors at the Leigh Roundup in San Jose on Sept. 12.

Goalie Zola Ducker posted a career-high 23 saves in a 6-4 loss to Los Gatos on Sept. 19. Jungjohann scored twice in that game, and Schulte added a goal and two assists.

Carmel (5-8-1 overall, 4-2 PCAL) has mixed results overall but holds third in league play. The Padres beat Monterey 2-0 on Oct. 1, topped Greenfield 7-0 on Sept. 24 and defeated Salinas 2-0 on Sept. 23. A 0-9 loss to Stevenson on Sept. 29 underscored the distance between the two programs.

Monterey (3-3 overall, 3-3 PCAL) has split its league games evenly. The Toreadors beat Greenfield 3-2 on Sept. 15 and Santa Catalina 2-0 on Sept. 24 but absorbed a 1-7 loss to Hollister on Sept. 21.

Santa Catalina rounds out the top five despite an 0-5 league record. The Herald's ranking does not include an explanation for the selection. The Cougars were shut out in losses to Stevenson (0-5), Monterey (0-2) and Salinas (0-1 on Sept. 30).

Carmel was scheduled to host No. 2 Hollister in a PCAL matchup on Monday, Oct. 5, at 4 p.m.