THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606140221
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 32 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 53 lines
The game looks like hockey without the ice; polo without the ponies. It's field hockey and Shikha Chaturvedi should play it well, said her mother, Kalpana.
``The game has been dominated by India. They won seven straight gold medals in the Olympics,'' said the proud mother. ``I kidded her. I said it should be in your blood.''
Shikha must have believed her mother. She scored the only goal in Independence Middle School's 1-0 win over Kempsville Middle School in the city field hockey championship game.
Independence, the Northern Division champions, compiled a 7-0-1 record in the regular season, the only blemish being a tie with Great Neck. Southern Division champion Kempsville went 8-0 in the regular season.
Kempsville coach Theresa Platte expressed guarded optimism before the game.
``We have some great athletes, a good group of girls who play well together,'' she said. ``And our goalie, Abby Stiles, is just great. Defense got us here.''
Defense almost took Kempsville all the way to the title until the goal early in the second half.
The scorer, Chaturvedi, may be continuing a family tradition. Her sister, Sonali, now a student at the University of Virginia, played for the perennial powerhouse Cox High School team.
``The ball bounced off the goal pads and I charged it and slammed it in,'' said Chaturvedi, describing the championship shot. ``Amy (Caddies) made the assist.''
The teams struggled to a scoreless tie at halftime. Both had a couple of scoring opportunities but came up empty-handed.
The second half started with a steady drizzle. This may have hampered Kempsville, which relies on the power of Kristin Costello. Her swings look like a combination of a baseball home-run hitter and a smooth-swinging golfer.
The grass may have bothered Kempsville some, too, said Platte.
``It's supposed to be a half-inch high according to regulations,'' she said. ``But no excuses. We lost to a great team.''
Her counterpart, Gayle Schuldt, had urged her team to keep it simple.
``I always tell them to run hard, keep the stick on the ground and love the game.''
They listened - and won a championship. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY EDWARDS
Independence Middle School notched a 1-0 win over Kempsville for the
city championship.
Photo by GARY EDWARDS
A joyful Independence Middle School team poses after notching a
championship win. by CNB