Saturday’s field hockey championship at the West Coast Classic featured the same two teams from 11 months ago, when Scripps Ranch took down Torrey Pines.
However, Torrey Pines was able to avenge last year’s loss with a 1-0 win of its own, highlighted by Izzy Adams scoring with four minutes left in regulation off the team’s 15th corner.
“It feels really good, especially after preparing for the whole weekend, in general, like all the hard work that we did overall as a staff, parents and players,” Torrey Pines coach Courtney Kun said.
“Obviously the girls are tired. Long weekend, long day. It’s hot, so it was nice to see them put one away there at the end.”
Throughout the fourth quarter, Torrey Pines had its chances with five corners alone. That included having two near misses before Adams scored.
“I think it was great being able to rely on our corners,” said Torrey Pines’ Ava Hauer, who is committed to Johns Hopkins University. “This was something we’ve been working on all year long. So knowing that we have most of our goals scored on corners was a big motivation for us to not only try to score but try to also earn those corners and be more productive out of them.”
As Torrey Pines recorded 15 corners, Scripps Ranch had just one corner in the finale of this 16-team tournament. However, being able to defend 14 corners showed Torrey Pines how difficult the top competition is in San Diego.
“It’s good to play those types of teams since we know that they’re always contenders,” Kun said. “It’s good to start off at the beginning, kind of see where we’re at, and where we’ve got to grow.”
This championship came after both teams beat their league opponents, 4-0. Torrey Pines took down Avocado League foe La Costa Canyon while Scripps Ranch bested Western League foe La Jolla.
As a result, it sets up the opportunity for a potential fourth meeting in the playoffs, on top of their two league matchups.
“We’re going to be playing (LCC) on Senior Night,” Hauer said. “This was a good motivation for us to keep working and for us to keep staying strong when we play against them.”
As the championship finished in one-goal fashion, the third-place game was also tight as the Vikings beat the Mavericks, 3-2, in a nine-frame shootout after the teams were tied at two after regulation.
Hauer’s teammate Dylan Rietti was named the tournament’s top offensive player while Huntington Beach High School’s Sarah Moniak and Poway’s Rochelle Ruiz earned top defensive and goalie honors, respectively.
Rounding out the all-tournament team were: Scripps Ranch’s Sammy Ippolito, Westview’s Betty Bush, Texas Hockaday’s Lucia Ubinas, La Verne Bonita’s Brooke Reedy, University City’s Sydni Sandoval, San Pasqual’s Tiana Jimenez, Eastlake’s Malia McClintock, and La Costa Cany