THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 28, 1995 TAG: 9510280471
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
Lake Taylor converted three consecutive penalty strokes in overtime and shut out Booker T. Washington for a 1-0 victory in Friday's Eastern District field hockey tournament final.
The win gives the Titans (7-3) the league's second berth in the Eastern Region tournament. Maury earned an automatic bid by winning the regular-season title.
After Leah Buhler missed the Bookers' (5-5) first overtime attempt with a lift that sailed over the goal cage, Lake Taylor's Stephanie Lynch beat a diving Tiffany Goodman to her stick side to give the Titans the edge.
Sheirka Sadeler came up next for the Bookers, but keeper Erin Finn foiled her try, deflecting the shot with her glove.
``I was just trying to stop the ball and make sure they didn't score,'' said Finn, who made nine saves. ``It hit my helmet and I thought it was going to go in.''
The Titans took a 2-0 stroke lead with Naida Kretsch's shot to Goodman's stick side. Erin Harkins then iced the victory with a straight-ahead blast following Jannat Scoon's miss for the Bookers.
The penalty-stroke victory came after a scoreless regulation and a 15-minute, seven-player overtime.
``They wanted it just as bad as we did,'' said Lake Taylor coach Laura Felch, whose team advances to the region tournament for the second time in four years. ``It just came down to heart.''
Both teams had their chances, with Booker T. Washington holding a 14-13 shot advantage and the Titans a 9-6 penalty corner edge.
The Bookers controlled the last 10 minutes of the second period and nearly scored when Sadler got a breakaway and collided with Finn. On the collision, Finn trapped the ball for a Booker T. penalty stroke with 6:22 to play.
Cherry Sowell lined up for the Bookers, but Finn cleared the ball out of Titan territory. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CHRISTOPHER REDDICK, The Virginian-Pilot
Lake Taylor's Naida Krestch, left, and Booker T.'s Tiarica Crocker
work for the ball in the Titans' Eastern District tourney final
win.
by CNB