Tars succumb in shootout, 1-0

Richard Dunn

For mudslinging, Newport Harbor High’s girls field hockey team

might have won the battle, but Harvard-Westlake celebrated following

a 1-0 victory in a shootout Saturday in the Tournament of Champions

title match at Pleasant View Park.

Perhaps it was Harvard-Westlake which proved to be the best

crunch-time mudslingers as sophomore Katie Wong slipped the only shot

past a rain-drenched Amanda Wittman, the tireless Newport Harbor

goalie, on the Wolverines’ fifth attempt in stroke play.

“It was so wet, the ball slid off her hand pad and into the

corner,” Newport Harbor Coach Sharon Wolfe said of Wong’s

championship-winning goal, which followed the Sailors’ fifth attempt

and ended the game.

After two hard-fought 30-minute halves and a scoreless 10-minute

sudden-death overtime period, the captains met at midfield for

another coin toss -- the third of the contest. Harvard-Westlake won

the flip and chose to defend first.

In stroke play, in which each team sends five players to a spot 7

yards out from the goal, Wolverine goalie Ali Neubauer saved two

shots, while two Sailor shots went wide left and another flew high

over the cage. Players are allowed only one step before shooting,

and, with the field a virtual mud puddle, the conditions were

difficult for those stroking.

Wittman, an all-tournament selection along with teammates Jill

Whitfield (midfielder) and Kaley Nix (forward), saved all four

previous Harvard-Westlake shots in a pulsating shootout in the rain.

But Wong’s shot slipped off Wittman’s glove and carried into the

upper-left corner of the goal.

Stephanie Drell was an all-tournament pick for Harvard-Westlake,

while teammate Sandhya Dhir shared tournament MVP honors with Santa

Ana’s Teri Garcia.

The Tournament of Champions is sponsored by the Los Angeles Field

Hockey Association, not the CIF Southern Section.

Newport Harbor (18-1-4) was trying to become the first field

hockey team in school history to finish a season undefeated and win

the TofC. It was the third straight year in which the Sailors lost in

the TofC title game, following back-to-back seasons against Marina.

“We haven’t been hanging our heads,” said Wolfe, whose team was

also led by midfielders Dana Owad, Tiffany Vandersloot, Chloe Cox and

Kerri Gates, while Danielle Pfaff and Ashley Gleason provided a

constant threat along the front line.

“This year (in the Sunset League), there were no powerhouses, but

everybody was strong and we felt we could finish in the top four,”

Wolfe added. “Then with our injuries, I thought we’d finish fifth or

sixth, so the girls did really well ... we have athletes out here and

girls who try to play field hockey, and we’ve been trying to get that

to mix, and today I think was the first time everybody’s intent was

the same. Some of our players are competitive, but on a lower scale.

“Today, though, everybody stepped up.”

After Newport Harbor dominated most of regulation,

Harvard-Westlake had the best chances of scoring in sudden-death

overtime, including with 0:30 left when Wittman stopped a shot on

goal.

With 8:30 remaining, Pfaff, Wittman and Gleason protected the cage

during a Wolverine penalty corner, and with 3:07 to play, Vandersloot

broke up a pass on another penalty corner for the visitors.

On another Harvard-Westlake penalty corner, Dhir set up Kristin

MacDonald, who took a huge swing and ripped one toward the goal, but

Whitfield stepped in front of the shot and took one for the team off

her body with 1:10 on the clock.

In the second half, Newport Harbor outshot the Wolverines, 9-1, as

the Sailors had numerous penalty-corner opportunities.

Once in the first half, and again early in the second half, the

ball rolled into the Harvard-Westlake goal and kissed the mental

backboard, but it wasn’t touched by a Newport Harbor offensive player

within the 16-yard circle.

Late in the first half, Vandersloot pushed the ball up on a

breakaway, but came up empty when the Harvard-Westlake defense

stiffened.