While the Los Angeles Field Hockey Association title slipped just out of reach in 2012, the varsity field hockey team would not let the championship gold escape its clutches in 2013, as the Wolverines defeated Edison 2-0 in the finals at Moorpark College Saturday, Nov. 2 to become the 2013 LAFHA Champions.
Emma Wasserman ’16 and Maddie Oswald ’15, who have been consistent offensive forces throughout the 2013 season, each scored a goal in the shutout against Edison.
Coming into the finals, the field hockey team was on a roll, winning eight of its last nine games and shutting out its opponent in all eight wins. Their last loss was more than a month behind them, in late September.
The Wolverines’ 14-1-1 season consisted of numerous accomplishments, starting with their win against Huntington Beach in the second game of the season, which avenged last year’s finals loss against the Oilers.
On Thursday, Oct. 24, the team defeated Louisville 8-0, clinching the Mission League title in its highest-scoring game of the season.
The team jumped over its first playoff hurdle, defeating Huntington Beach once again in the quarterfinals. The team shutout its rival 2-0.
“We didn’t want to feel the same way that we did in last year’s game,” Oswald said. “We wanted revenge and we knew from the beginning of the season that we could do it. We just had to play our hearts out.”
In the semifinals Oct. 30, a goal from center midfielder Glenne Carter ’14 in the final seconds of sudden death overtime lifted the team past Newport Harbor 1-0 and into the championship game for the second straight year.
Fanatics as well as the varsity football team rushed the field and celebrated with the field hockey team after Carter netted the winning goal.
“It was definitely an amazing feeling but I was actually so shocked that it happened,” Carter said. “It felt awesome to just celebrate as a team too and have everyone run on the field.”
Goalie Daniela Grande ’15 and the defense ended this season allowing only three goals in the team’s 16 games. The Wolverines shut out their opponent in every game of the playoffs.
“I think the defense this year really was a solid group of girls,” Carter said. “They always cheered each other on and helped each other throughout the season. Also, [goaltender] Daniela Grande did an amazing job.”
The lack of goals allowed by the Wolverines is not only credited toward a potent defense and a crafty goalie, but also to the ball control and consistency of the offensive front and the midfielders. In the 2013 season, the team averaged four goals per game.
“I think that realizing we got so far last year we had more confidence in ourselves carried forward into the season this year,” Carter said. “From the beginning we felt like it was our year to win.”
