Girls field hockey: Harbor has fun with Bonita

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - Another shutout victory, another dominating

performance, and it’s still not safe for the Newport Harbor girls field

hockey team to speak of a Sunset League Championship.

Well, it’s not safe with Coach Sharon Wolfe.

But, junior Lauren Birchfield won’t hold back.

After a 2-0 league victory over Bonita Thursday at Harper Community

Center, Birchfield and a few other Sailors are convinced the championship

title belongs to Harbor.

“We are definitely a championship team,” said Birchfield, who scored

the Sailors’ first goal off a shot deflection. “We are so ready to go all

the way.”

Harbor has now earned 13 shutouts this season, good for a 15-1-1, 10-0

in league record. Thursday, the Sailors easily took care of Bonita in

what was, for Harbor, “a really fun game,” Wolfe said.

“I think it’s a hair early,” Wolfe said of the championship talk. “We

are in the driver’s seat...but you never know until it’s all over.”

The Sailors scored both of their goals in the first half. After

Birchfield’s goal, less than nine minutes into the match, Sarah Green

smacked one in five minutes later. Green’s goal came off a penalty

corner.

Harbor’s best defense was its offense. The Sailors continually

attacked. They had 16 shots on goal and never let Bonita’s offense cross

midfield in the second half.

The Bearcats finished with zero shots on goal, but tried to compensate

with physical play.

Still, Bonita hardly made a threat to score, especially in the second

half. The Sailors’ goalie Chloe Cox, stood alone, waiting.

“Sometimes it gets boring,” said Cox, who is now the team’s full-time

goalie with Amanda Wittman out with a broken leg suffered in a club

soccer match. “I’m still into the game. I’m just cheering for the team

from behind.”

Cox also believes the Sailors are heading toward a championship.

“If we stay together and play as a team we can win it,” she said.

The Sailors’ dominating performance and championship run has also

impressed other Sunset League coaches.

“They are a championship team,” said Bonita Coach Lisa Osmanian. “It’s

because they act like they want it. They have great skills and they play

as a team.”

Wolfe said the team still needs two more wins to start talking

championship. The Sailors face Westminster Tuesday as Wolfe expects the

match to be similar to the victory over Bonita.

She will look to spread out the minutes to all the players. And she

wants the team to have fun and focus on improvement.

The Sailors will then meet Edison Thursday at Harper, in what should

be a tough challenge for Harbor’s quest for a league title.