Huntington Beach shuts out Newport Harbor in L.A. Field Hockey Assn. T.O.C. final
LA VERNE — The Huntington Beach field hockey team needed only to scratch in most games to feel good about its chances.
Junior Sarah Low’s goal in the opening minutes provided all the Oilers would need in the final of the Los Angeles Field Hockey Assn. Tournament of Champions.
Huntington Beach defeated Newport Harbor 2-0 in the championship match on Saturday at La Verne Bonita High, capping a dominant campaign that saw the Oilers surrender just two goals throughout the entire season.
“First two minutes, … my teammate Lily [Robertson], I remember just screaming her name,” Low said. “I’m running down the field. She gives me a through ball, and I’m sprinting, I’m dribbling left, and I see the goalie coming right at me.
“So I use my reverse, and I go right to the right post, and I’m so glad I got there before the other team did. I couldn’t believe it went in.”
The Oilers dominated from start to finish. Goalkeeper Jessica Flores did not have to face a single shot, as even the rare concession of a short corner was met with a blocked shot.
Huntington Beach coach Cathy Van Doornum glowed when asked about the stingy defensive corps, led by Teagan Delaney, Melanie Toubin, Ella Kelley and Kelly Blackburn. They form a senior quartet she trusts in all situations, as she said they all would have been selected to participate had the game come down to penalty strokes.
“They’re the experienced ones in this group, and they’re just solid,” Van Doornum said. “We have four seniors back there. They’re just composed. They’re solid. They work well together.”
Despite the best efforts of junior defenders Polly Ripke and Maia Schimmelpfennig to keep the Oilers away from their cage, the Oilers continued to force the issue and eventually earned a penalty stroke in the fourth quarter.
Delaney received the call to take the shot, firing it inside the left post to provide an insurance marker.
Toubin, who scored the goal in a 1-0 victory over Bonita in the semifinals, was named the MVP of the tournament.
“She’s involved a lot in the corners offensively,” Van Doornum said of Toubin. “She creates a lot. She has a good drive. She has good stick work. She’s composed, and she’s been working on making good decisions, and I think this whole tournament, she was better at distributing, making decisions.”
Huntington Beach (20-1), which was the runner-up to Studio City Harvard-Westlake last year, outscored opponents 108-2 this season. The Oilers also defeated Newport Harbor (16-8-1) by a count of 2-0 in a true road game at Davidson Field on Sept. 12.
Senior goalkeeper Makaila Gallardo made eight saves for Newport Harbor, which bested Marina 1-0 in its semifinal match.
“We have had a really tough week,” Newport Harbor coach Amanda Boyer said. “Facing Edison in the quarterfinals, they’re a really strong team, as well, and so going into penalty strokes with them. It was 0-0 until the fourth quarter on Thursday against Marina.
“Both of those games, the girls had to give it everything. I was hoping that would build to today, the experiences of that. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t find our momentum.”
Also in the Tournament of Champions:
La Verne Bonita 2, Marina 1 (OT): Katie Boyd and Kailey Scott scored for the Bearcats, who earned an overtime victory over the Vikings in the third-place match on Saturday at Bonita High.
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