By Mark Seraydarian

They wore their decorated shirts to school on Friday.

There was a rooter bus to the game.

They were ready to end the Harvard-Westlake CIF title drought, but for the girls on the varsity field hockey team, it was not meant to be.

After defeating the third place team Newport Harbor 3-2 in the CIF semifinal game on penalty strokes, the Wolverines’ run ended with a 3-0 loss to the Tartans of Glendora, marking the end to an otherwise successful season.

“I think both teams played really well,” Hailey Orr ’07.

“Everyone on the team had a lot of heart and really wanted to win it, it was just Glendora’s day to win.  This season was amazing.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

The Wolverines controlled the first 29 minutes of play, but just before halftime, Glendora made a foray into Wolverine territory, and a screaming bullet of a shot ended the stalemate.

Glendora controlled the second half. It fought off some early pressure and scored on a breakaway goal and another long distance shot to ice the game.

“It’s too bad it wasn’t on turf,” Head Coach Erin Creznic said with a smile, referring to the bumpy, uneven field at Marina High School, a neutral site for the game.

The girls knew what they were up against: they lost to Glendora 2-0 in the first week of the season.

“I was sad that we lost, and this was my last high school game ever, but I was so proud of my team,” Dani Laufer ’07 said.

“We came so far this year and really came together as a team coming into playoffs.”

Orr and Laufer were included on the All-Tournament Team, and Brenna Moeljadi ’07 was named Tournament MVP in the post-game awards ceremony.

“This season was the best I’ve ever had mostly because the people on the team were awesome,” Moeljadi said. 

“We all hang out together and we all felt like family.  I love them all.”