Hayfield Begins 2011-12 Bird Bowl Series with Field Hockey Win

With the field hockey Bird Bowl trophy on display at midfield, a senior-laden Hayfield squad used two second-half goals to down Edison, 2-0, and retain possession of the cup for another year.

The Hawks moved to 4-2 (3-0 National District) behind goals from Katie Zatt and Macy Dolton during a 10-minute stretch midway through the second half.

“I kind of expected this from my girls, the way they have been playing – consistently together this whole season,” said first-year Hayfield varsity coach Lauren Cirino.

The game was the season’s first in a series sponsored by the local Red, Hot and Blue restaurant. The next “Battle of the Birds” comes Nov. 4, also at Edison, when the football teams will meet in the last game of the regular season.

Friday night’s contest was scoreless through the opening 37:50 before Zatt scored her first goal of the season on a rebound after Eagles goalie Emma Munis cleared the Hawks’ first shot after a penalty corner.

“It was our goal to get a corner (early in the half) and finish one,” said Zatt, a senior. “I saw an open area and I just knew (I had it).”

Edison was the more aggressive team in the first half, playing the final 10 minutes with the ball in Hayfield’s half of the field. Goalie Jeri Huber knocked away a few shots, and Hayfield’s defense prevented speedy Edison forward Lilly Payne from working in open space.

“I was playing very conservative in the first half, we were playing more defense,” said Cirino, whose team heads into the weekend with three wins in a row before facing Centreville on Sept. 20. “We were concerned about [Payne], she’s just extremely fast and has pretty good ball control. But I realized we weren’t getting any offensive opportunities, and that’s not how we win a game.”

Edison coach Ginger White Robertson, a Hayfield grad, was impressed with her alma mater’s defense.

“We just couldn’t get it in the cage. They had nice, strong defense, stopping everything. We kind of would look at the ball and not follow it in. We definitely had opportunity,” she said.

A playoff-type atmosphere brought on by a couple weeks of hype within each school’s hallways revealed itself as Hayfield received a pair of cards – including Elizabeth Sanie drawing a yellow – and Edison captain Alex Smith getting sidelined early after being hit in the lower lip by a ball.

“We have a big rivalry, so it’s a big win for us,” Zatt said. “It feels really good to have [the trophy] back at Hayfield for another year. Most of us are seniors, so it’s great to be leaving and have it kept there. Hopefully it will stay there next year. We need all the trophies at Hayfield this year.”

With 15:54 to play, Dolton connected from close range to make it 2-0 and put the game out of reach. From then on, all Hayfield had to do was lock down Payne, as Edison started looking for long drives upfield instead of stringing together a sequence of passes.

“We’re still learning to work together,” White Robertson said after her team dropped to 1-3. “This is a group that’s not cohesive. We’re not a team yet. Once that clicks, then they’re going to be unstoppable.”

Edison’s best second-half opportunity came when Payne knocked a close-range shot wide right with just over 10 minutes to play. From that point on, the Hawks ratcheted up the defensive pressure and Brittani Garza and her teammates challenged Edison’s passes and kept the ball at midfield or in the Eagles’ half.

“We’re struggling a little here on offense, but we’ll get it done, we’ll get there,” said White Robertson, looking ahead to a possible rematch with Hayfield in the National District tournament.

“Last year we lost the Bird Bowl and then ended up winning in the district playoffs,” she said. “They got this one, maybe we’ll get the next one.”

 Cirino said she was glad to see her team overcome a nervous first-half, because as the season wears on, there will be plenty of games tied at halftime, potentially in the district or regional tournament.

So while Hayfield can say it accomplished one of its preseason goals, beating Edison, the Hawks still have more items to cross off their list.

“I told the girls it’s a stepping stone to our final goal, and our goal is to win districts,” Cirino said. “We’re going to do that one step at a time. … It sets us up for better play the rest of our season.”