Girls field hockey: Harbor clinches championship

Steve Virgen

FOUNTAIN VALLEY - In order to clinch a Sunset League field hockey

championship, the Newport Harbor High Sailors would have to conquer their

most toughest opponent: themselves. Harbor overcame last week’s 2-0 loss

to Edison with a 3-0 victory at Fountain Valley and revived its intense

play for a Sunset League title.

With one game remaining at Santa Ana, Thursday, the champion Sailors

17-2-1, 12-1 in league en route to replacing Edison as the league

titlist.

“We finally had our intensity back up,” Harbor Coach Sharon Wolfe said

Tuesday. “We had outstanding performances from Megan Moss and Sarah

Green. Those two played very well.”

The Sailors crushed the memory of their loss to Edison by

concentrating on clinching the league title. Harbor’s positive motivation

began with a scoreless halftime with Fountain Valley (5-4-3).

Neither team controlled the game in the first half. Harbor attacked

with four shots, but only one was threatening. With 2:20 remaining, an

apparent score by Harbor sophomore Kayley Nix was nullified after the

official realized Nix stopped the ball with her foot before she shot it

in.

“We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities,” Wolfe said of her

team’s first half. “We played too wide in the first half.”

Nix and her teammates, however, would capitalize on opportunities in

the second half.

Nix was involved in Harbor’s three scoring plays as she scored twice

and assisted on another goal.

Less than nine minutes into the second half, Nix took her own rebound

and passed the ball off to Chanelle Sladics waiting in front of the cage.

Sladics finished the play for the team’s first goal.

“I just gave it a nice love-tap to get it in,” Sladics said.

With 11 minutes remaining, Nix struck for a goal on a breakaway.

Fountain Valley’s goalie approached Nix high on the break, but Nix

quickly fired a shot into the empty cage.

“I was just thinking, “Let it go early. Let it go early,” “ Nix said

of shooting fast. She said the team’s motivation for a league title

inspired her second-half performance.

“In the first half we were a little slow,” she said. “We were a little

bit more motivated in the second half. Our main advantage in the second

half was that we were always the first to the ball.”

The Sailors controlled the second half with precise passing and

effective defense. The Barons could never gain an advantage. Fountain

Valley only took two shots from its seven penalty corner opportunities.

Harbor goalie Chloe Cox finished with two saves as the Sailors allowed

four shots on goal.

Nix put the Barons away with 6:40 remaining as she scored off her own

shot deflection. The Sailors held on to get their 15th shutout of the

season and the Sunset League title.

But, as the season carries on, Harbor does not want to ease its play.

“We still have to keep on winning,” Sladics said.