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Highlanders find early hockey success
- Updated: September 8, 2026
2026 EAST COUNTY PREP FIELD HOCKEY
EastCountySports.com staff report
LA MESA — Helix has supplied East County’s strongest early results while Olympian has emerged as the highest-rated team in the Metro Conference during the opening month of the 2026 field hockey season.
The conference brings together nine programs in two divisions this season. Helix, Eastlake, Otay Ranch, Olympian and Bonita Vista comprise the Mesa Division, while Granite Hills, El Capitan, Hilltop and Southwest form the South Bay Division.
Official conference play begins Sept. 28. Until then, several Metro teams have faced each other in games classified as nonleague contests, providing an early preview of what could follow.
For Helix (3-3), the early résumé includes three victories by shutout.
The Highlanders defeated El Capitan, 7-0, on Aug. 20, blanked Patrick Henry, 2-0, on Aug. 28 and edged Sage Creek, 1-0, three days later.
Helix’s losses have exposed the difficulty of competing against some of the section’s stronger programs. The Highlanders fell to Point Loma, 7-1, and San Dieguito Academy, 9-0, before dropping a 3-0 decision to Mission Vista on Tuesday.
The program has named Madison Hinchman as captain. Ella Aguayo, Jacqueline Santoyo, Lily Ryan, Lyla Johnson, Milani Morga and Sophia Carlile are also among the Highlanders’ recognized team leaders.
The latest computer ratings, released before the Mission Vista result was incorporated, placed Helix No. 20 in the San Diego Section.
Olympian makes an early statement
Olympian (2-1) owns the conference’s highest current computer rating at No. 7 in the section after overwhelming Hilltop twice.
The Eagles opened with a 7-1 victory over the Lancers on Aug. 19, then completed the early sweep with a 6-0 road victory on Sept. 4. The games do not count in the conference standings, but the combined 13-1 margin established Olympian as an early Mesa contender.
Senior Mikaela Stalnaker produced four goals, three assists and 11 points in the two victories.
Stalnaker recorded a hat trick and assisted on two more goals in the opener. She followed with a goal and an assist in the rematch.
Senior Savannah Close scored three goals across the two games. Junior Valentina Escobedo and senior Abigail Stark each supplied three goals and one assist.
Olympian generated 39 shots in the two victories.
Freshman goalkeeper Allison Sardon was credited with the win in the opener. The Eagles did not submit individual goalkeeping figures from the shutout in the rematch.
Olympian finished 11-7 overall and 6-2 in conference play last season, trailing only Eastlake in its league race.
Eastlake remains the standard
Despite Olympian’s higher early computer position, Eastlake (2-1-2) remains the conference’s established program.
The Titans finished 18-1-2 last season, went 8-0 in conference play and captured the CIF San Diego Section Division 2 championship. Eastlake moved into Division 1 this season.
The Titans opened their current campaign at the West Coast Classic, defeating Bonita of La Verne, 2-0, falling to University City, 2-1, and playing scoreless draws against La Costa Canyon and Mt. Carmel.
Eastlake later finished in another reported 0-0 draw against Clairemont. The result was incorrectly categorized as a victory on one team page, but the posted score was 0-0.
Two Titans appeared on the Union-Tribune’s preseason county players-to-watch list: senior goalkeeper Emma Brown and junior Emily Burgon.
Burgon led the conference last season with 19 goals, 15 assists and 53 points. Brown posted a reported 0.20 goals-against average for a defense that allowed only five goals throughout Eastlake’s championship season.
Rivera powers Otay Ranch
Four Otay Ranch players were included on the preseason county watch list, and three have already contributed to the Mustangs’ scoring.
Senior Danika Rivera scored all three goals in a 3-0 victory over Mira Mesa on Sept. 3. It was Otay Ranch’s second consecutive 3-0 win after shutting out Vista on Aug. 26.
Rivera scored once and added an assist against Vista, giving her four goals and one assist in the two victories.
Sophomore Sasha Manuel scored against Vista and assisted on Rivera’s hat trick against Mira Mesa. Senior Tiana McFadden also scored against Vista, while sophomore Valentina Hernandez contributed an assist.
Mia Rosete and Sophia Borja recorded assists against Mira Mesa.
Rivera, Manuel and Hernandez joined sophomore Aaliyah Kenney as Otay Ranch’s four preseason county watch-list selections.
The Mustangs (2-2) were No. 21 in the latest computer ratings.
Hilltop finds early success
Hilltop (4-3) has played more games than any other South Bay Division team and has already equaled more than half of its seven victories from last season.
The Lancers defeated Patrick Henry, 2-0, Bonita Vista, 3-2, Otay Ranch, 1-0, and Bonita Vista again, 1-0.
Senior Hannah Gomez leads Hilltop with four goals and eight points. Sophomore Paulina Chavez has supplied an assist, while senior goalkeeper Olivia Mertz has been associated with the Lancers’ early shutout work.
Hilltop was 7-5 overall and 5-1 in league play last season. The Lancers entered this week No. 19 in the section computer ratings, immediately ahead of Helix.
Granite Hills awaits its opener
Granite Hills had not reported a varsity result entering the week, although the Eagles have a full schedule ahead.
The Eagles finished only 5-10 overall last season, but their 3-1 league record was the best among the East County programs competing in their grouping.
Granite Hills is scheduled to visit Helix on Monday at 5:30 p.m., offering another opportunity to measure the two East County programs before official conference play.
El Capitan (0-4) has faced a demanding opening stretch. The Vaqueros have reported losses to Patrick Henry, Helix and Sage Creek, with another result against Escondido included in their overall record.
El Capitan has not yet scored in its reported matches. The Vaqueros finished 1-12 last season.
Bonita Vista (2-4) earned two decisive victories over Southwest, winning 9-0 and 7-0, but has also dropped two close games to Hilltop. The Barons finished 10-11 last season.
Southwest (0-2) has reported only its two games against Bonita Vista. The Raiders were 0-7 last season.
Computer poll reshapes preseason picture
No Metro Conference team appeared in the county’s preseason Top 10, although Eastlake was listed separately among the section’s teams to watch.
The early computer ratings have elevated Olympian to No. 7, making the Eagles the conference’s first team to enter the county’s current top 10.
Eastlake was rated No. 15, followed by Hilltop at No. 19, Helix at No. 20 and Otay Ranch at No. 21. Teams with fewer than three reported games were not eligible for the initial ratings.
Countywide, Torrey Pines (8-0) rose from fourth in the preseason poll to the top of the computer ratings. Preseason No. 1 Bishop’s (4-0) was second, followed by preseason No. 2 Scripps Ranch (7-1).
San Dieguito Academy and (3-1) and Point Loma (3-1) completed the computer top five.
Bishop’s remains the reigning Open Division champion and is led by junior Lola Conway, the two-time section Player of the Year who scored a national-leading 54 goals last season.
Eastlake, meanwhile, begins its title defense in a higher division while Olympian, Helix and the rest of the Metro field prepare for the conference games that will ultimately define their seasons.
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