FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP : Serra Wins 11th Title in 14 Years

Serra High won its 11th San Diego Section field hockey championship in 14 seasons Saturday at Digueno Junior High with a 1-0 victory over Torrey Pines, one of only three schools to have beaten Serra in the playoffs since 1980.

“It never gets old winning championships,” said Serra Coach Laurie Berger, who won her fifth title in 10 tries as a coach at Serra and Morse.

Ann Bietler, a junior forward, scored an unassisted goal early in the match on a shot from the top of the circle that deflected off a Falcon defender to lift top-seeded Serra (18-1). Berger said Joy Driscoll, a junior center halfback, also played an outstanding match, as did unseeded Torrey Pines (11-8).

“They really played us very tough between the two (25-yard lines),” Berger said. “At times, I felt they controlled the middle of the field.”

In addition to its 11 titles, Serra finished second in 1986 and ’89 but was upset in the first-round of the ’91 playoffs by Torrey Pines, which is coached by Serra graduate Cherie Freddie, the 1985 section player of the year.

In the third-place game, Hilltop scored two late goals to defeat Bishop’s, 3-1. After Bishop’s (11-10) scored early, Hilltop (13-8) tied the match a few minutes later, but it stayed that way until the final three minutes.