THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 19, 1995 TAG: 9511190472
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIENNA LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
The Cox field hockey team survived the best Northern Virginia had to offer and won a national record seventh-straight Group AAA title with a 1-0 overtime victory over Lake Braddock Saturday at Oakton High.
But in the tournament, the Falcons were tested for the first time this season - twice.
Cox (21-0) entered the eight-team event riding a 45-game winning streak after having outscored opponents this season by a whopping 129-2 spread.
But Cox won only 1-0 over Northern runner-up South Lakes in Friday's quarterfinal, needing Catherine McCallum's goal with 4:10 left.
After smashing Northwest champion North Stafford 6-0 in a Saturday morning semifinal, the Falcons again faced a stiff challenge from the Northern champion Bruins (16-2-2) - who had eliminated defending state runner-up Bayside in an overtime quarterfinal.
Cox totally dominated the championship - finishing regulation with a 21-4 penalty corner advantage and an 11-2 edge in shots.
But with a Lake Braddock defense tightly packed in the scoring circle, Cox failed to finish and moved into the 15-minute, seven-on-seven overtime - a format the Bruins had played in twice in their last three games.
``I didn't know that (about Lake Braddock) and I'm glad I didn't,'' Cox coach Nancy Fowlkes said. ``I might have been worried then.''
Cox continued to control the action in the sudden-death overtime and it was again McCallum who provided the win - this time when she took a penalty corner pass from Katie McDonald and blasted a shot off two defenders and past the Bruins keeper with 7:17 left.
``Initially, if I see Kim (Miller), I'll go for the assist,'' McCallum said. ``I saw her, but then I realized I had the angle and I just pushed it as hard as I could.
``We deserved this and we came through in the end.''
In besting their own national record for consecutive state titles, the Falcons also moved into a tie with Mt. Holly of Moorestown, N.J., for most overall state titles with 10.
Miller, the state's leading scorer in both a single season and career, scored three times in the tournament - all in the semifinal - and finished with 63 goals for the season and 160 for her career.
McCallum entered the tournament in a first-place tie for single-season assists with 33, but didn't get an assist in the three games. Goalie Kim Iman finished with 54 career shutouts - good enough for second in the record book. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot
A weeping Catherine McCallum is swarmed by teammates after scoring
the winning goal in the finals.
by CNB