Few prep sports teams in the Bay Area—if any—have to travel farther for away league games than the Los Gatos High boys lacrosse squad.
Due to a variety of factors, the Wildcats play in the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s upper Gabilan Division, which includes Salinas High, Hollister High, Palma High of Salinas and Stevenson High of Pebble Beach.
“Thankfully, we started the year with six straight road games, so now we’re in our home stretch,” Los Gatos coach Chris Nespor said. “Historically, since I’ve been here, we’ve had a spoil of riches (of talent). This year we’re healthy, we’re top-end heavy and I think our seniors and upperclassmen in general are really stepping it up.”
After struggling with injuries to a handful of their top players last year, the Wildcats have rebounded and entered this week’s action at 5-5 overall and 2-1 in league.
A recent stretch confirmed Nespor’s hunch that Los Gatos will contend for one of the top two spots in the Gabilan Division this year.
The league champion receives an automatic Central Coast Section playoff berth, while the second-place finisher takes on the PCAL Mission Division champion for the second automatic postseason berth.
The Wildcats suffered a tough 10-9 loss to Stevenson on March 28, a match Nespor said the team had circled on their proverbial “calendar.”
That’s because Los Gatos’ two chief competitors for the league title include Stevenson and Palma. Despite the defeat, Nespor has been satisfied with the team’s recent stretch of play, which included an 11-10 win over Palo Alto High on March 19, a 9-8 loss to St. Francis three days later and an 11-6 victory over Live Oak High on March 26.
“I think Live Oak was the best game we’ve played, but all three of those (matches) stand out to me which tells me we’re on the right track,” Nespor said. “One of our top players was out sick (vs. Live Oak), and we came out with the next-man-up mentality. We’re doing what we want to be doing.”
Senior Jack Baldwin anchors the team’s attack and hurts opponents with his ability to maneuver in the open field and in traffic.
“He isn’t afraid to dodge against anyone,” Nespor said. “He’s more of a finesse dodger but isn’t afraid of contact. He’ll take a check and get past you. He can take a game over but at the same time, he’s always looking up to feed (teammates with scoring opportunities). He’s quick, can get his hands free and has a pretty big bag of tricks.”
Senior midfielder Michael Hoffman has also been a prolific scorer, producing a couple of five-point games.
“He can rip the back of the net with the best of them,” Nespor said. “He gets shots off, and at certain moments you’re thinking, ‘How did that go in?’ He knows where to put the ball, knows where to be off the ball…and has a very good feel for the game.”
Nespor said the triumvirate of junior attack/midfielder Luke Goddard and sophomores Ben Reilly and Zach Gouldrup have been consistently reliable in their ability to facilitate the offense. Defensively, the Wildcats are led by Zach Otoupal, who earned the 2023 Gabilan Division Defensive Player of the Year award—as a freshman. It’s rare that high school coaches vote for a freshman to win one of the major league awards, so Otoupal’s accomplishment speaks volumes.
“Zach is backing that award up with his play so far this season,” Nespor said.
Senior Jack Donovan is one of the team’s most versatile players, capable of playing attack, midfield and defense. However, Donovan has honed in on his role as the long-stick midfielder, a position that requires tremendous athleticism, instincts and beating other players to the ball.
“Jack is really coming into his own as an LSM,” Nespor said.
Of course, no team can compete at a high level without a top-notch goalie, and Los Gatos has that in junior Carter Paradice.
Underrated by spectators, but appreciated by coaches, lacrosse goalies face dozens of shots a game, meaning they’re often the deciding factor in whether a team wins or loses.
“The goalie position is the most important for that reason,” Nespor said. “If you have a good goalie, they’re going to bail you out a couple of shots a game, and Carter has done that for us. At the high school level, if a goalie gets over 10 saves, that’s a pretty good game. Carter has been in the 12 to 15 save range the last three to four games. The goalie is the quarterback of the defense, so you need a guy that can control things back there.”
