Scholastic Notes

Delmarva region

Maryland

PUBLIC-SCHOOL FINALS A STUDY IN RESILIENCE, RECORD BREAKING

The Maryland public-school championships showcased not only the passion and athleticism of the game of field hockey, but showed the importance of physical and emotional resilience. At the same time, two major National Federation records were tied in the dual doubleheaders at Goucher College.

When it came to emotional resilience, nothing could match Edgewater South River. The Seahawks were a team that found its legs in mid-season, becoming the first team from Anne Arundel County to defeat Severna Park in about a decade.

Once the Maryland 3A playoffs began, there seemed to be nothing that could affect this team. After a semifinal win six days before the state championship game, team members seemingly felt no tension whatsoever while they watched the Great Mills-Columbia Long Reach semifinal match.

The Seahawks were laughing, telling jokes, and making pyramids on top of the embankment overlooking the Goucher College varsity field while cameras clicked.

"They're a very fun group of kids, that's for sure," said Seahawks coach Laura Gerrior.

That looseness quickly turned to ice water when Long Reach tied the game after South River took an early lead. In the second half, the Seahawk attack, led by seniors Jackie Colacicco and Anne Cline and sophomore Amanda Ashey, got the job done in a 3-1 win.

"The girls really wanted it in their hearts," Gerrior said. "All 11 of my players played so well together, and that makes such a difference."

Severna Park (Md.) faced a similar challenge when Bethesda Walt Whitman got an early goal in the 4A title game. Once Whitman sophomore Julia Sivon put in a cross in the first half, Falcons goalie Michelle Swartz jumped up and shouted at her defense.

Was it the kind of defensive dissention that would let SP's chance at a 13th state championship slip away? Hardly.

"We knew that we were not invincible, and we had to play our hardest at all times," said Severna Park senior captain Lynsey Bateman. "And No. 1 means nothing when you lose."

Juniors Emily Swartz, Christine West, and Kaitlin Hancock responded for Severna Park, which, thanks to the 3-1 win, tied the National Federation record for the most state titles, tying Frank W. Cox (Va.) and Moorestown (N.J.)

"It's incredible, since, as seniors, this was our last game together," said Severna Park senior captain Lynsey Bateman. "This is the greatest team; we've worked so hard. With the two losses, it makes us think we've really worked for it."

Bethesda-Chevy Chase showed amazing resilience in 2000. For the second straight season, the B-CC scholastic community attended classes in nearby Wheaton while their original campus was undergoing renovation.

"I think we've put to rest The Curse Of Northwood," Wood said after her team's 3-0 win in the 2A final. "I think the next school that moves in there may have a state championship coming."

Then, there was the pressure. The Barons were going for their seventh straight state championship, were top-ranked in the Washington Post, and was ranked as high as No. 3 in one national survey.

"I told them, after the first regional game, 'You can't take the pressure off. You have to learn what to do with it, and learn how to use it to our advantage. Accept it, relish it, and move on,' " Wood said. "This team is so easy to coach. They are so talented, and are the most athletic team I've ever had."

The Barons, in playing a plucky Hereford team in the 2A final, knew they had to go against top goalkeeping prospect Christina Restivo. Eventually, however, it took defensive midfielder Heather Sperling and left wing Jenny Portillo to break open the scoring after a scoreless first half.

"I was very lucky: I didn't think my shot was going to count," said Sperling, a senior who was a last-minute starter. "It went in high off one of their defender's sticks."

"(Wood) asked us to remember that this would be the last 30 minutes we were ever going to play together, and that pumped us up, wanting to go out with a bang," said Portillo, a senior, who scored twice. "They left me open a lot on the left side, and, understandably, they had to cover me."

In the 1A final, Princess Anne George Washington (Md.) similarly did not feel the pressure to repeat as champions, toppling Rising Sun, 2-0. The Tigers, having won an emotional semifinal over neighboring Elkton in penalty strokes, did not have the answer for Washington.

"The game was more aggressively played than we have seen this season, but they did all they could do here," said Rising Sun coach Linda saubier. "I think they came out and played as hard as they could play, but it didn't happen for us today."

NYBORG TOURNAMENT AN EXERCISE IN SELF-DISCOVERY

The second annual Sally Nyborg Tournament, held at Baltimore Roland Park (Md.) was a new experience for two of its participants. Neither Centreville (Va.) nor Marple-Newtown (Pa.) had ever played a field hockey game outside of their respective states.

There were numerous things that the participants had to get used to: tight umpiring, two gorgeous grass fields, and, for some games, 25-minute halves.

"What we wanted to do was to take them someplace and have some fun, let them bond together, and see a different kind of hockey," said Marple-Newtown head coach Wendy Smith, whose Tigers won three games over the weekend.

When Centreville and Marple-Newtown met each other on the tournament's first day, it was an exercise in self-discovery for the teams' center midfielders. Centreville junior Shannon Karl and Marple-Newtown middie Ashleigh Haas put on a show in directing their respective attacks. And though Haas' Tigers won 3-0, each had greater respect for each other.

The Nyborg had a couple of interesting confrontations as well. On the first day, Severna Park managed a late 2-1 win over host Roland Park, securing the Falcons' top ranking in at least one major scholastic field hockey poll.

One day later, however, Severna Park -- the state's 4A champion -- lost to 2A champion Bethesda-Chevy Chase 3-2. The Bethesda Battlin' Barons had taken a 3-0 lead at the half that could have been 6-0 if a couple of their chances had squirted in, but the Falcons gamely came back.

"We just came out flat and let them run circles around us in the first half," Severna Park coach Lil Shelton told The Baltimore Sun. "I don't know why. But I'm proud of the way we came back. I think shows a lot of character to hang in there and not give up at 3-0."

THE LEARNING CURVE

Given the effortlessness of how girls' outdoor sports teams execute their craft at Ellicott City Mount Hebron (Md.), you might think it is easy for the 1999 Maryland Class 2A finalists to reach the same kind of form.

Not so, says Vikings' head coach Jeannette Ireland.

"We've come a long way since our first practice," she said moments after Mount Hebron dropped a 2-0 decision to Baltimore Bryn Mawr (Md.). "Though we were sluggish the first 10 minutes, we did start to play a lot better."

The two schools graduated a great number of seniors from their 1999 varsity programs, but the result was the same as last year's contest held at Hebron.

A RESURRECTION ON THE EASTERN SHORE

Field hockey players have not had the best of times at Mardela (Md.) Springs the past five years. After winning state titles in 1978 and 1982, a depression of interest in the sport forced the school to drop the sport in the mid-1990s.

However, the administration at the school might not have found two better people to rejuvenate the program for its 2000 renaissance. Jodi Byrd and Brandi Shobe, two members of the Pocomoke (Md.) dynasty of the mid-90s, were hired to coach the team.

"You're starting with players with no bad habits and are actually willing to learn, and you can mold them into good hockey players," Byrd says. "It's going to be a good learning experience."

To open the season, Mardela Springs played at the giant playday at Pocomoke City -- the hometown of both Byrd and Shobe. The young team, clad in black, was able to win its second scrimmage of the day thanks to good quickness and aggressiveness.

Perhaps the hockey learning curve isn't quite as steep as you might think.

District of Columbia

VISITATION LEAVES IT LATE

There has been a talent drain in the Independent School League in 2000, thanks to the graduation of several immensely talented players. This has made the league a wide-open competition.

What has helped Washington Georgetown Visitation (D.C.) step into the breach this season is its ability to finish. That ability carried the Cubs to an 7-1 record in their first eight games of the season.

The next game was a vital contest against Washington Sidwell Friends (D.C.). Visitation had possession for virtually the entire first 20 minutes of the game, but could only score once.

"We couldn't finish the way we are used to," Visitation head coach Anne Weaver told The Georgetown Current. "This is not how we are used to finishing."

Eventually, the Cubs were able to put away Sidwell with Annie Hunt's pair of second-half goals, but with the ISL playoffs coming up, the attack remains a bit of a concern. The defense is not; the 8-1 record encompasses eight shutouts.

"In the second hald, we played as if we knew we had to step it up," Weaver said to The Current. "And we play better when it happens."

Delaware

HENLOPEN AND HILLERS GO OVERTIME, AGAIN

Given the history between Wilmington Tower Hill (Del.) and Lewes Cape Henlopen (Del.) in the Delaware Secondary School Athletic Association tournament, fans had every right to expect overtime.

When the two teams met in 1982 for the state final, the teams played two overtimes before Tower Hill won in penalty strokes.

In 1995, the teams played 108 minutes of overtime over two days before Cape Henlopen won on a penalty stroke.

So, when the two teams met at the University of Delaware to contest the 2000 title, the fans were mindful of Delaware's unique overtime procedure -- and were hoping they wouldn't have to sit through it in weather more suited for hibernating than spectating.

Delaware's overtime in the state final can consist of up to 140 minutes of overtime. If the game is tied after regulation, a 10-minute period of reduced-player extra time is played. After that, up to three more 10-minute periods of golden-goal overtime is played.

If no golden goal is scored, the game is suspended, and the teams come back on another date to play two 20-minute halves of extra time with teams playing 11-on-11. If the score is still tied, up to six periods of 7-on-7 golden-goal overtime are played until co-champions are declared.

The spectre of a 200-minute game loomed large, since both Cape Henlopen and Tower Hill could not manage a score in 60 minutes of regulation. The Hillers had the run of play for much of regulation, earning more shots and more corners, but Cape Henlopen backs Brandi Reed and Clara Hollingsworth played outstanding games on defense.

The fans who braved the arctic temperatures were in for a big surprise in the 10-minute period of extra time. Hillary Schmidt started the madness for Tower Hill in the 65th minute, knocking in a long-side goal from the left wing in the 65th minute.

Cape Henlopen's Maren Ford, however, seized upon what seemed like a half-acre of open space at the top of the circle in the 67th minute, knocking in a long goal through Tower Hill's withdrawn defense.

With the clock ticking down towards the final minute of play in extra time, the inspired Schmidt found the back of the cage again, giving Tower Hill a 2-1 win and its 11th state championship, fourth in National Federation history.

"I wouldn't say we planned to go into extra time," said Tower Hill head coach Robin Adair, "but my kids love to play 7-a-side. And they definitely enjoyed it tonight."

TRYING TO REPLICATE THE MAGIC AT WILLIAM PENN

The 1999 field hockey season at Newark William Penn (Del.) went beyond all expectations, as the public school advanced to the state final, only to lose 3-0 to Wilmington (Del.) Christian.

But the Colonials found themselves with no wins in their first three games after tough games with Rising Sun (Md.), West Chester (Pa.) East, and cross-town rival Newark High. Since the early swoon, however, William Penn began to mature into the kind of team ready to again contend for the state title.

"I don't think you can have the same chemistry, unless you don't lose anybody," said Penn head coach Paige Clausius. "We have to work with what we're given."

Perhaps the team's best trait thus far is its ability to come back from an adverse situation. The Colonials went on a seven-game winning streak after the early'season swoon, then met again with Wilmington Christian in a regular-season game, losing 4-2. William Penn then bounced back from that loss with a 4-0 win over Felton Lake Forest (Del.).

"We're starting to get there," Clausius said. "It's taking some time, but they're doing a nice job."

Virginia

COXLESS VIRGINIA BRACKET LEADS CONTENDERS A MERRY CHASE

The big story in Virginia field hockey this season was the dropoff of Virginia Beach Frank W. Cox (Va.), the 13-time Virginia High School League (VHSL) champions. The Falcons, in winning almost every Class AAA title since 1989, had assembled powerful teams, members of which populate Division I programs.

In 2000, however, Cox failed to make the state tournament out of the Virginia Beach region. This led to a scramble among the teams which have been Cox's victims for the better part of the decade.

Eventually, the winner turned out to be one of Cox's beach-area rivals. Virginia Beach Princess Anne (Va.) topped Stafford (Va.) 3-2 in the championship game.

"It';s just unbelievable how we handled the pressure," said Princess Anne head coach Denise O'Connell, after her team scored twice in the last 11 minutes to top Stafford. The game-winner was scored with 1:08 to go on an Amber Mason deflection.

Stafford had an amazing run over the last few weeks of the 2000 season. The Indians had managed to snare a top-two seed in their district tournament on the final day of the season against top rival North Stafford.

Since then, Robin Woodie's crew sailed through the district and regional tournaments until running smack into Centreville in the state semifinals. The Indians managed to win in penalty strokes.

"We played with tons of ice in our veins," Woodie said. "But the difference today was the momentum. When a team gets so many shots on goal and is always pressuring the defense, you're bound to crack."

Centreville's loss ended a spectacular season. This team had a taste of high-level scholastic hockey at the Sally Nyborg Tournament in playing Marple-Newtown (Pa.) before losing 3-1.

The team took that experience into the rest of the season, only to drop a late-season contest to Oakton (Va.).

That one loss was all that Starr Karl needed to motivate her troops in District and Northwest Regional play.

"It made us realize that we had to be serious -- no matter who we were playing," Karl said. "We had to play every game like we were in the regional finals."

Centreville not only got through the first two rounds of the regional tournament, it beat Burke Lake Braddock (Va.) 2-1 in overtime to win the region.

"I had a feeling that we were going to win," Karl said. "It wasn't a couple of people who were playing well, it was all 11 people."

STRONG MIDFIELD LEADS ST. CATHERINES TO CHAMPIONSHIP

The Virginia Independent School League (VISL) could see it coming.

In 1999, Richmond St. Catherine's lost its chance for the school's first field hockey championship when Alexandria St. Stephen's/St. Agnes (Va.) entered the VISL tournament rather than participate in the Washington-area ISL tourney.

St. Stephen's/St. Agnes won the championship, which only gave the 11 rising seniors for St. Catherine's motivation for the 2000 season.

St. Catherine's struck back against any team that crossed its path, winning 25 games in 2000, including a pair of wins over St. Stephen's/St. Agnes. The latter of the two wins was especially sweet: a 4-2 win in extra time in the championship game.

"This is a special theam that never lost sight of the opportunity to make a positive statement for our program," head coach Don Warner told The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The positive statements come from the Saints' midfield. Seniors Katie Temple and identical twins Alexis and Natalie Martirosian have dazzled in the critical center of the field, and help their teammates use open space perhaps as well as any high school team, in any year.

This was especially the case in the 10-minute session of extra time in the final. St. Catherine's pulled ahead 3:21 into the 7-on-7 overtime when Natalie Martirosian slipped a perfect goalmouth pass to teammate Ginger Tripp. The game was sealed in the final 10 seconds of extra time as Natalie Martirosian rifled home a penalty corner. It was her third point of the game.

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