THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 18, 1994 TAG: 9411180593
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIENNA LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
Cox and Bayside showed the state's best field hockey teams just who's the best with dominating Group AAA quarterfinal victories Thursday at Oakton High.
Beach teams have met in the championship three times since the tournament went to an eight-team format four years ago.
The Falcons and Marlins are hoping to make it a fourth all-Beach show, and gave every indication they would despite cold, wind-driven drizzle and bumpy fields that took away the Beach's edge.
Cox (19-0) blasted Albemarle, 6-0, and Bayside (17-4) zipped by North Stafford, 3-0.
In today's 12:30 p.m. semifinal, Cox will face Northern champion McLean - a 2-1 penalty strokes winner over Midlothian. In the 2:30 p.m. semifinal, Bayside will take on Centreville - a 1-0 victor over James River.
In the opener, Cox scored in typical fashion 13 minutes into the action when Kirsty Hale let loose with a shot off a penalty corner and Kim Miller nailed in the rebound.
Hale made it 2-0 six minutes later, crushing a loose ball in front of the Patriots' goal.
Miller scored again in the second half and Hale added two more goals as the five-time defending state champs built a 5-0 lead.
Lauren Crenshaw added the sixth goal, working a nice two-on-one break - feeding Hale and then taking a pass from her before nailing a shot from the right side.
With the lopsided victory, Cox pushed its scoring output for the season to 102 goals. Miller solidified her position as the state's all-time leading scorer with her 45th and 46th goals of the year. She now has 93 for her career.
Hale is the second-leading scorer in state history, pushing her totals to 42 for the year and 89 for her career.
``It took us a little while to get warmed up,'' Hale said. ``These weren't the ideal conditions to be playing in. And a bumpy field like this one makes you look so uncoordinated.
``And the fact that we left school this morning at 6:30 for a four-hour ride on a school bus didn't help.''
Cox never let Albemarle (5-8-5) in the game, racking up 21 penalty corner plays before the Patriots got off one. The Falcons finished with a 21-0 shooting advantage.
``It's true, we hoped the conditions would slow Cox down a little,'' Albemarle coach Dotty Bohannon said. ``But Cox is such an excellent team.''
Bayside showed North Stafford (13-5-2) that it has many of the same qualities as the Falcons, registering 14 penalty corners to the Wolverines' four. The Marlins finished with a 16-2 shooting advantage.
And they made their point quickly, with Crystal Pickett scoring just 55 seconds into the action.
``Quan (Nim) and Dawn (Bell) just took it down the field right off the bat and one of them took a shot,'' Pickett said. ``Coach always tells me to kiss the post in that situation and the keeper saved it right at me on the left post.
``I guess I was about 2 or 3 feet away and I just pushed it in.''
Bayside's speed overwhelmed the Wolverines, despite field conditions that worsened by the minute.
``And their stickwork. And their power,'' said Stafford coach Carol Lysher, a Kellam High graduate. ``We had no stickwork compared to theirs and they just blew by our girls.''
Pickett added an insurance goal with 12 minutes left in the first half, when she found another free ball in front of Wolverines keeper Stephanie Brasington.
``But even though it was 2-0, we had to play like it was 0-0,'' Pickett said. ``We've never been here before, and we want it so bad.''
For good measure, Jen Moricle scored with 58 seconds left.
McLean and Midlothian battled to a 1-1 tie after regulation and two 10-minute overtimes. Latane Beck scored for McLean (17-0-1), while Shannon Timberlake scored for Midlothian (16-3-1). Jeanne Mark and Karen Hendricks scored penalty strokes goals.
Emily Harwood scored for Centreville (13-4-1) 5:32 into the second half, and the Wildcats were able to hold off a fierce rally by James River (8-6-2). by CNB