Sailors repeat

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Lauren Grupe dodged the defender flying at her at the top of the circle.

Then, she let one fly, and a split-second later it found the back of the net.

It was only late in the first half, but the Newport Harbor High field hockey team had all the scoring it would need. The defense did the rest as the Sailors repeated as winners of the Los Angeles Field Hockey Assn. Tournament of Champions, 1-0 over Huntington Beach at Edison High.

The Oilers pushed back in the second half, earning four penalty short corners. But a Newport Harbor defense anchored by junior goalie Sydney King and also including seniors Zoie Wolfe and Lauren Rojas, as well as junior Madeline Storch, never gave in.

“They gave us some difficulties down inside our circle,” Sailors Coach Devon Kelly said. “They came up with some short corners that were very offensive, so that was a concern, but I think for the most part we played very good hockey against a very, very good team. They have a tremendous amount of depth and I’ve never taken them lightly. They have skill at every level: at keeper, at forward, at midfielder. We had to come up big.”

Huntington Beach (16-2) was the top-seeded team in the whole tournament and had a 2-1 record against Newport Harbor this year headed into the final. The Oilers had topped the Sailors (15-2-1) in their second Sunset League meeting Oct. 20, as well as the finals of the Orange County tournament on Oct. 3.

But Newport Harbor came out on top for the second straight year thanks to Grupe’s goal, after what Kelly called a very “college-level” move in dodging the Oilers defender.

“It was so exciting,” said Grupe, named the tournament MVP. “It happened really fast. I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it ... [The title] means so much because we worked so hard this whole season. For us, it’s been a long journey, and it really means a lot. Being a senior, it’s the best feeling.”

Kelly said she brought Claire Layton back to the midfield in the second half, which helped as the Oilers made a push to tie the game. Claire Ramser and Courtney McIntosh were also named to the all-tournament team for Newport Harbor.

She also said she felt the Sailors defended better than they had in past games against Huntington, and Rojas agreed.

“I just feel like we work really well together on the field, and off the field we love each other, so we pulled through tonight and beat Huntington,” Rojas said. “It was very much a team effort and I don’t think we could have done it if we weren’t so close.”

King was the hero last year in this game when she stopped the game’s final shot. This time around, she said she was so nervous that she nearly threw up before the game.

At the end, however, there she was, jumping up and down in the goalie gear as her teammates rushed to mob her again.

“I love my team so much,” King said. “We’re so much more than a team; we’re sisters.

“It’s going to be sad when the seniors leave, but we’re going to come out next year even harder, so beware Huntington and everyone else.”