HIGH SCHOOL FIELD HOCKEY
September 4, 2007
NOTES: Louisville conquers another tournament
By
NATHAN CHAMBERS
BeyondTheDerby.com
This looks like another good time to ask if the field hockey communities outside Kentucky recognize just how strong the field hockey community within Kentucky has become.
Louisville teams made an impact at another out-of-state tournament over the weekend, winning the top three pools at the 10th annual Gateway Classic in St. Louis.
“So I think they’re getting the idea,” Collegiate coach Wendy Martin said.
Defending state champion Sacred Heart won all three of its games in Pool A; Collegiate won all three of its games in Pool B; and Ballard won two of its three games in Pool C. Eastern also played but lost three of four games in Pool I.
The event attracted teams from not only Missouri and Kentucky but also California, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
“In my opinion, Louisville teams dominated,” tournament co-director Kelly Yates said.
That reflects a growing trend. Last season, Sacred Heart won Pool B at the Gateway Classic and then won the Huskie Invitational in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, where Ballard and Assumption also finished in the top four. And the International Field Hockey Club of Kentucky (IFHCK) has won numerous pools at the USA Field Hockey National Hockey Festival.
“I think they know we’re going to bring strong teams, that we’re going to be competitive,” Martin said. “But it’s nice to go and win three pools. I think people will start noticing Louisville a lot more.”
Most impressive, the Valkyries (9-0) extended their winning streak to 37 games with a 3-0 win over defending Illinois state champion Lake Forest on Saturday morning, a 5-3 win over defending Missouri state champion Cor Jesu on Saturday afternoon, and a 4-0 win over another Missouri team, St. Joseph’s Academy, on Sunday.
Lake Forest has won the Illinois title in six of the last seven years; Cor Jesu, which is ranked No. 9 in TopOfTheCircle.com’s preseason national top 10, has won the Missouri title in four of the last five years; and Yates believed St. Joseph’s was the best team in Missouri this season.
“We were stronger and stronger each game,” Sacred Heart coach Liz Lewis said. “The level of our play was exciting for everybody.”
The Valkyries totaled 22 out of a possible 24 points in the pool; Cor Jesu was a distant second with 10 points. Points were awarded for each win (3), tie (1), shutout (1), and goal scored (1) up to four per game.
Junior Jessica Lindner scored four goals, and senior Taylor Collins and junior Olivia Miller each scored two.
Collegiate (5-3) beat Whitfield (Mo.) 2-1 on Friday and Oak Park 2-1 on Saturday afternoon, with sophomores Taylor Hodge and Margaret McConnell scoring a goal in each game. Junior Sarah Jessee’s goal stood in a 1-0 win over John Burroughs (Mo.) a little later on Saturday. The Amazons totaled 15 points, four more than Whitfield and Oak Park.
“We played well,” Martin said. “Hopefully we’ll keep going that way.”
After beating Harvard Westlake (Calif.) 3-0 on Friday, Ballard (10-2) avenged its 2006 Huskie Invitational semifinal loss to Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS) with a 3-1 win on Saturday afternoon. The Bruins had to play Yates’ team, Lafayette (Mo.), less than two hours later and lost 2-1.
“I’m proud of the way they played against MICDS,” Ballard coach Kelly Logsdon said. “I think they gave it all they had, and they didn’t have much left for the Lafayette game.”
But Lafayette then lost to MICDS and finished with 13 points, one less than the Bruins. Ali Pulliam scored a goal in each of Ballard’s games.
Logsdon noted that the Gateway Classic, at the Anheuser Busch Sports Complex, was played on turf similar to that at the University of Louisville’s Trager Stadium - the site of the state tournament.
“That (surface) really shows where the talent is, in terms of stick skills,” Logsdon said. “Going into the state tournament, I like to see that.
CAL Classic next
Host Christian Academy and Manual are two of the six varsity teams that will compete in the CAL Classic on Friday and Saturday, and BeyondTheDerby.com will provide full coverage.
Christian Academy, St. Francis and Seneca are in the first pool, and Male, Manual and Presentation are in the second pool. Teams will play a 30-minute game against each of the other two teams in their pool on Friday.
The fifth-place and third-place games on Saturday also will be 30 minutes each - at 11:15 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively - and a full 60-minute first-place game will be played at 12:45 p.m.
A short scrimmage, pitting the coaches against the all-tournament team, is tentatively scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Saturday.
“I think it’s going to be a great tournament,” Christian Academy coach Andrea Roussel said. “It should be fun.”
District standings available
Be sure to check out BeyondTheDerby.com’s exclusive 2007 standings, which are updated daily to reflect each team’s current district and overall records.
A complete list of scores also is available.
Join BeyondTheDerby.com at the first big district game of the season next Tuesday, when Collegiate and Assumption will meet on the Rockets' side of Champions Trace Lane at 5:30 p.m.
(Editor’s note: Coaches and authorized team representatives are strongly encouraged to submit scores, stats, news items and other story ideas to Nathan Chambers.)
