Newport Harbor field hockey reaches final, blanked by Harvard-Westlake
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STUDIO CITY — Newport Harbor’s field hockey team put together a sterling second half of the season, a hot streak and a flair for the dramatic serving it well in its push to the final of the Tournament of Champions.
The Sailors went past regulation in two matches to reach the championship game, but they were unable to remain within striking distance Saturday against Studio City Harvard-Westlake.
Junior Margaux Schlumberger scored twice for the host Wolverines, who dominated in possession in a 4-0 win at Ted Slavin Field.
Harvard-Westlake (15-4-1), which was the runner-up to La Verne Bonita last season, earned its second championship in three seasons.
“I’m very glad to be back here,” said Schlumberger, who has committed to Harvard, crowned the Ivy League champion on Friday. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m really privileged to have been part of such a great team, and I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished.
“Honestly, it’s nice to have a material reflection of how hard we’ve worked. But, really, this whole season has just been an incredible experience, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Newport Harbor (14-7-3) dropped its regular-season meeting with Harvard-Westlake, again a 4-0 result on the road on Sept. 18, but had shown its resolve in rebounding the rest of the way.
Following the midseason loss to the Wolverines, the Sailors went 9-1-1 leading up to the title game. Newport Harbor beat Bonita, 2-1, in the quarterfinals, prevailing in the tie-breaking shootout, with scoring help from Samantha Pearsall, Sophie Fleischli and Sadie Taketa. Melia Kearns scored for the Sailors before the extra session.
Harper Lohman scored in regulation and overtime to send the Sailors past Southern League champion Huntington Beach, 2-1, in the semifinals.
“That’s what I would, for sure, attribute to this team is their grit and their perseverance,” Newport Harbor coach Amanda Boyer said. “We just talked about getting better with every game and coming to every game with the fight in them to get the win. We had a hard road. They fought really hard to get here.”
Schlumberger opened the scoring 10 minutes into the contest with a shot that thumped loudly off the backboard.
Early in the second quarter, the Wolverines had the Sailors hemmed into their own end again. Maggie Koo gathered a clearing attempt, threw it toward the netfront on her backhand, and Hayden Park got the deflection to double the lead.
The second Schlumberger goal came off a short corner. Kayla Graff served as the injector. Schlumberger made a toe-drag maneuver and took an initial rising shot that was turned aside by Lauren Gregory (nine saves), but she got her own rebound to extend the lead to 3-0 with three minutes left in the first half.
Harvard-Westlake earned a penalty stroke in the fourth quarter, which appeared to be a chance for Schlumberger to go for the hat-trick. Koo, a senior bound for the University of Pennsylvania, took it instead, driving the ball into the top left corner of the goal.
“She’s one of my closest friends,” Schlumberger said of Koo. “She has been everything. I am very lucky to have a younger brother, but she’s been the older sister I never had. She always took me under her wing, and I was very happy to defer that to her, let her have that opportunity.”
Harvard-Westlake finished the season having won eight games in a row and on a 13-game unbeaten streak. Sue Hodgkins, head coach of the Wolverines, also commented on the special moment when Schlumberger let Koo take the penalty stroke.
“It totally speaks to the character of the girls, how close they are and how supportive they are as teammates and friends,” Hodgkins said. “It’s always about team. Those two have been playing together for a long time, and they totally love each other.
“Margaux knows she has another year and, for Maggie, this has been like a monumental journey for her to get here. There were 12 seniors on the team, so this was a very important season for all of them.”
Also in the Tournament of Champions:
Huntington Beach 1, Edison 0: Kailey Kosai scored for the Oilers, who won the third-place game of the Tournament of Champions on Saturday.
Sarah Moniak assisted on the goal for Huntington Beach (15-6-3). Paige Moss added four saves.
Edison finished the season with a record of 16-3-2.
