STUDIO CITY – Before meeting in the field hockey LAFHA Southern Section title game, Edison and Huntington Beach had played three games each ending in a 1-0 score. Saturday’s title match between Sunset conference rivals was no different.
Senior Ava Kime put a loose ball in the back of the net for the game’s only goal with 2:25 left in the sudden-death overtime period to give Edison its second championship in as many years.
“One of my teammates hit the ball in and the goalie dove,” Kime said. “She just happened to miss it and I was there.”
The goal came off of a short corner opportunity, the first such chance in overtime for either team and the third in game for Edison. Huntington Beach had four, all of which came in the first half, when the Oilers dominated possession.
“Where we struggle is finishing,” said Huntington Beach coach Cathy Van Doornum. “We created a lot of opportunities and just haven’t finished.”
The Oilers’ possession advantage was something that the Chargers make a concerted effort of preventing in the second half.
“I felt like in the first half we really let them dictate the pace of the game and we were frazzled,” said Edison coach Becca Antongiorgi.
Edison controlled the ball more in the second half and had a few scoring opportunities. The Chargers nearly scored with just more than 15 minutes left in the second half, but the ball was stopped inches from the goal line.
Edison and Huntington Beach have won the last three Southern Section championships, with Huntington Beach winning in 2013 and Edison knocking off the Oilers, 4-0, last season.
“Huntington was coming back to get us,” Kime said. “They wanted this win.”
The Oilers actually won the first of the four games between the two conference foes this season, but the Chargers won the last three, two of which went to sudden death.
“You know what to expect. You know they’re going to be motivated and you know it’s going to be a well fought game,” Antongiorgi said. “Any time you are trying to repeat nobody is going to give it to you. You have a huge target on your back.”
For Kime and her fellow seniors, finishing their high school careers with back-to-back titles is as good as it gets.
“It’s a really special moment,” Kime said. “Its so amazing, I couldn’t have done it without my team.”
