Ravens tied for first

“This is, by far, the hardest week,” said Sequoia head coach Hailey Amato.

The Ravens took the first step Tuesday when they faced Burlingame at the Aragon pool. Sequoia started strong, leading the Panthers 7-2 at halftime before holding off the Dons over the final two periods to post an 8-5 win and move into a first-place tie.

“That was super exciting,” Amato said. “It was a game we were looking forward to. It was such a close match the first time (a 10-8 Burlingame win Sept. 12) we knew it would be a tough match (Tuesday).”

Not only did Sequoia (6-1 PAL Ocean) score three times in the opening period, the Ravens shutout Burlingame (6-1) over the first seven minutes, limiting the Panthers to just three shots — one was saved by Fernanda Pardo, a second hit the crossbar and a third was thrown out of bounds.

“We came out slow, dug a hole and couldn’t climb out of it,” said Burlingame head coach Dennis Clement.

Freshman Fiorella Campbell led the Sequoia attack with four goals. Senior Eleanor Campbell and junior Caitlin Dulsky each scored two goals apiece.

Dulsky, who helped lead the Sequoia girls’ basketball team to a Central Coast Section Division I championship this past spring, had a strong opening two quarters. In addition to her two goals, she added a team-high three assists. Defensively, she came up with a pair of steals in the hole set and had a big field block during a Burlingame power play.

“[Dulsky] is super strong in every aspect. Her instincts are good,” Amato said. “She goes out with a ferocity not everyone has.”

Burlingame was led by Natalie Sullivan Wu, scoring both in the fourth quarter. She picked up two kick outs in the first period and Clement had to put her on the bench for the next two periods to avoid picking up a match-disqualifying third.

She made her presence felt right away when she came back for the final seven minutes, stuffing home a pair of goals from the left post.

In addition, the Panthers got one goal each from Isabel Downey, Lily Hartley and Alyssa Archie.

“A team can’t win on the back of one player,” Clement said. “Last year, we had a bad habit … and I saw a lot of those old habits come back.”

Sequoia took a 1-0 lead on a hustle-play goal. A shot from the left wing was parried away by Burlingame goaltender Alex Dolginskiy, but Sequoia’s Eleanor Campbell was there to grab the rebound and put it away just about two minutes into the match.

Eleanor Campbell then paired with Dulsky at the 2:49 mark, with Dulsky firing home from the left point for a 2-0 Ravens’ lead. Dulsky then set up Fiorella Campbell on the right point for a 3-0 lead a little over a minute later.

Sequoia started the second quarter by forcing a Burlingame turnover at midpool on the first possession, with Fiorella Campbell driving on goal and putting away her shot for a 4-0 lead.

It was the start of a three-goal barrage over a 36-second span. Seventeen seconds after the Ravens goal, Downey got the Panthers on the board, scoring on from the left post.

Nineteen seconds after that, Sequoia got the goal back with Dulsky scoring from the point on a restart for a 5-1 Ravens’ lead.

Fiorella Campbell’s third goal of the half gave Sequoia a 6-1 lead before Burlingame’s Hartley converted a 5-meter penalty shot.

Each team scored one in the third, with Sequoia taking an 8-3 lead into the fourth period.

“The second half got a little stagnant,” Amato said. “But our defense … wasn’t giving them a lot of opportunities to score.

“I’d like to see us finish the game the way we start.”