Thomas Dale wins field hockey title

SLIDESHOW: Thomas Dale vs. Cosby

Last night's Central Region field hockey championship may not have been an elimination game, but there was much more riding on the outcome for Thomas Dale and Cosby than merely an opportunity to add another piece of shiny hardware to their schools' trophy cases.

The Knights were trying to win their fourth consecutive region title. The Titans sought the first region crown in their program's four-year history. And for both teams, the chance to host a Group AAA state tournament quarterfinal game Tuesday gave last night's matchup at Clover Hill High School even greater significance.

"Our biggest thing was we wanted to have our first state game at home," said Kim Church, whose first-half goal gave Thomas Dale a 1-0 victory. "Our field is lumpy and bumpy and we're used to it. It gives other teams a surprise when they have to play on it."

For the past several years, all four state quarterfinal games were played at the same site: the U.S. National Training Center in Virginia Beach, where home-field advantage was reserved for the Eastern Region's powerhouse programs. This year, however, the Virginia High School League allowed each of the four regional champions to host state quarterfinals at a site of their choosing.

While Thomas Dale earned the right to stay home Tuesday and face the Eastern Region runner-up, Cosby will travel to Virginia Beach and face the Eastern champion on the fast artificial turf fields at the National Training Center.

"We've never played on turf, so we wanted to get a game on grass and take away one of their strengths," acknowledged Cosby's Kelsey Powell.

The Titans (19-2-1), who saw their 13-game winning streak snapped, built a 4-1 edge in penalty corners and kept Thomas Dale (16-1-1) on the defensive with some effective long hitting from Powell. But for all of their time spent in the Knights' penalty circle, the Titans seriously threatened Dale keeper Savannah Cummings only a couple of times.

"I thought we dominated the first half, we just couldn't get it in," Cosby coach Rachel Mead said. "We didn't take many good shots."

Thomas Dale coach Beth Jaeckle, who watched Cosby rally from an early 1-0 deficit to beat Mills Godwin in Wednesday's semifinals, told her players at halftime to expect even more furious attacking from the Titans in the second half.

The Knights' best defense was a strong offense. Thomas Dale generated eight penalty corners in the second half to none for Cosby and only Christina Siwiec's point-blank save against Church prevented the Knights from doubling their lead with 12 minutes left.

"We were playing a defensive game, and that was good enough for us to be leading 1-0, but that's not our game," Jaeckle said. "Our whole goal is to keep possession. Once we calmed down and got that in our heads, we played a lot better in the second half."

Thomas Dale ------------------------- 1 0 - 1
Cosby ------------------------- 0 0 - 0

Saves: Cummings (TD) 6; Siwiec (Cos) 9