Field Hockey: Sailors homey in win

Newport Harbor High field hockey coach Amanda Boyer said she was pleased with the way the Sailors used the whole field in a 1-0 nonleague win over visiting Studio City Harvard-Westlake on Tuesday.

The twist is the field the Tars are using this fall – Huntington Beach High – while the Newport Harbor football stadium is being renovated.

Things typically have not gone well at Huntington Beach, a Sunset League rival that graciously volunteered to let the Sailors use their synthetic turf facility.

But it’s a new season and a new designation as a home away from home for the Huntington Beach pitch, and the Sailors (1-0-1) appeared plenty comfortable in their home opener.

“We’re taking what we can get and we’re thankful that Huntington Beach has offered to let us play her,” Boyer said.

Boyer was also grateful for her team’s spacing and unselfish passing, which helped it control the flow of play against the Wolverines (3-1-2).

Newport posted a 7-1 advantage in shots, with Harvard-Westlake’s lone directive on goal in the closing minutes.

The Sailors scored in the 45th minute of the 60-minute contest, when senior tri-captain Georgia Yokoyama pushed in a dribbling shot through traffic from the point by senior Katie Hendrix, who was credited with an assist.

“[Yokoyama]’ is positioned on the back post, so she can swipe in those balls,” Boyer said.

Offensive catalysts for the Sailors included senior tri-captain Mollie Crook, senior Mckenzie Porteous, junior Kerrigan Sam, and senior Kendall Machado.

Defensively, Hendrix, sophomores Chloe Bagiu and Grace O’Neil, as well as junior Rylee Warmington, helped keep things clean in front of goalkeepers Callie Kennedy (first half), a senior, and junior Sara Sheldon (second half), who shared the shutout.

Newport Harbor’s goal came with the Wolverines one player down, due to a green card that disqualifies a player for two minutes. A lack of cooperation between officials and timekeepers, however, forced the Wolverines offender to sit out more than double that time, until after the goal was scored.

Newport Harbor plays host to Westlake High on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. at Edison High. It’s the only “home game” this season not played at Huntington Beach.