Prep field hockey: Zero tolerance

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - If defense wins championships, Newport Harbor High is

on its way to a Sunset League field hockey title.

Four games into the season and the Sailors haven’t allowed a goal.

On Tuesday, host Harbor kept its shutout streak intact and earned its

fourth straight win as Lauren Birchfield scored off a deflection with

12:35 remaining in the second half for the 1-0 league victory over Santa

Ana at Harper School.

The winning goal came after Sailors Coach Sharon Wolfe called a

timeout just three minutes into the second half. She said the team lacked

intensity and that her players weren’t attacking.

So then the Sailors woke up. Rather than attempting to smack the ball

through Santa Ana goalie Evelyn Gutierrez, they tried to get it over her.

And then after a scramble at the Santa Ana net, Birchfield caught

Gutierrez out of position.

“It should have been a stroke goal, but I hit it in before the ref saw

it,” Birchfield said. She said a Santa Ana player laid on top of the

ball, which would normally be called for a stroke (basically a penalty

shot). The ball slipped out and Birchfield knocked it in.

After the goal, the Sailors didn’t just defend their lead. They

continued to aggressively attack. Yet, Santa Ana responded with scrappy

play.

The Saints frustrated the Sailors into the 48th minute.

“They have improved and they are building confidence,” Wolfe said of

Santa Ana.

Newport Harbor had 28 shots on net, while another 18 sailed far left

or wide right. Santa Ana goalkeepers Martha Gonzalez and Gutierrez kicked

10 shots away. But Birchfield snuck one in.

“They’re probably the best we played this year,” Santa Ana Coach Ernie

Canata said. He said Newport’s strength was its mastery of the

fundamentals.

Newport’s basics kept the Sailors undefeated. They have wins over

Westminster, 8-0, a 3-0 victory over defending league champion Edison and

a 3-0 decision against Fountain Valley before taking down Santa Ana.

“We were playing for the win, not the tie,” Newport Harbor senior

Elizabeth Evans said. “We want to stay undefeated.”

The Sailors played without senior Lisa Owad, who is out with

mononucleosis. Wolfe said Owad was improving and was beginning to play at

a higher level.

Owad said she started to feel ill two weeks ago. She thought she just

had the flu. But after a check-up, doctors found that her liver was

inflamed and she could not play. She still goes to the games because she

is part of the team, she said.

“It was really disappointing for my senior year,” she said. “But I’m

going to play. I’m ready to go right now. Unfortunately, my parents and

doctor won’t let me play for a couple weeks.”

Owad is expecting to return for the Oct. 19 rematch with Edison.