THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411200216
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIENNA LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Cox carved its name into the national high school record books Saturday at Oakton High, becoming the only field hockey team in history to win six straight state titles.
The 3-0 victory over Bayside also tied the Falcons for first in the National High School Sports Record Book for most overall championships with nine titles.
``Isn't that something,'' coach Nancy Fowlkes said. ``Today we played to win. Today we played like a team that has best-team-in-the-state status.''
Cox (21-0) had struggled in Friday's 2-1 semifinal victory over McLean - in a game which Fowlkes said her team was playing for the win rather than striving for excellence.
But Saturday's game was different. The sun had come out after two days of wind-driven rain, and the field was considerably more playable than it had been in the first two games - catering more to the Falcons' ball-control offense.
And with the better field conditions, the Falcons played like they had all season - dominating the action from start to finish.
Cox finished with 16 penalty corners to Bayside's three, and had an overwhelming 20-1 shot advantage.
Bayside coach Patti Bullock blamed the Marlins' lack of offense on working too hard on defense.
``Part of our problem was that we were playing defense,'' Bullock said. ``Although our defense was doing a great job, we were playing defense.''
Meanwhile, Cox was playing the kind of offense that has made it the winningest team in state history.
Cox scored halfway through the first half when Kim Miller directed Amy Lamoureux's free hit past Marlins keeper Jen Walter.
Walter was likely caught off guard, as the ball glanced off a teammate's stick.
Cox had taken six shots at that point of the game, and Walter had made five incredible saves.
But after the first goal, there was little doubt that Cox was destined for the record books.
By halftime, Cox had outshot Bayside, 11-1, and had Walter not been up to the task, the score likely would have been worse.
Lamoureux and Miller teamed up again eight minutes into the second half - with Miller cutting toward the goal as Lamoureux blasted a free hit from just beyond the scoring circle to make it 2-0.
Sophomore forward Brianne Baylor then made the play of her career with 10 minutes remaining, when she tapped in a Miller pass for the final score of the game.
``It was a goal of mine to score in the state championship game if I got the chance,'' Baylor said. ``That's really all I asked for.''
And it helped Miller reach one of her goals as well.
``I wanted to have a good assist today,'' said Miller, who scored her 50th goal of the season and the 97th of her career - solidifying her position as the leading scorer in state history.
``It was perfect,'' Miller said. ``I had the ball and I think I had a shot, but I pulled it back because I saw Brianne open.
``It's great to score, but I think that I'm going to get my shots. It meant so much more to me than scoring. It was awesome.''
What is awesome is the trail the Falcons have left in their journey to Saturday's championship.
After outscoring their opponents, 85-5, last year, the Falcons stepped up the pace this season and finished with 107 goals - good for ninth in the national record book.
Bayside (19-5) deserves considerable credit for keeping the score below the 6-0 and 5-0 scores of the two previous meetings.
The Marlins marked Miller and Kirsty Hale better than they had been guarded all year.
``We really wanted to get Kirsty a goal for her last game, but they were really marking her tight,'' Miller said. ``She realized that and did a great job of just getting the ball into play like she always does.''
Despite not scoring in the final, Hale finished her career as the second leading scorer in state history behind Miller, finishing with 42 goals this season and 88 for her career.
The championship was the fourth in the five years since the Virginia High School League went to an eight-team format that two Beach teams faced each other. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
RALPH FITZGERALD
The Falcons celebrate their 3-0 victory over Bayside in the state
championship.
by CNB