Chesapeake coach Melissa Page is confident her field hockey team could have scored a few more goals during its 9-0 victory over Glen Burnie on Tuesday, but she didn?t feel it would accomplish anything ? and she should know.
Page?s coaching philosophy in games against lesser-talented teams stems from her Cougars getting pummeled, 6-0, by perennial Anne Arundel County and state champion Severna Park in Page?s first game as coach in 2003.
Since then, Page has slowly turned Chesapeake into one of the best programs in the state. The Cougars are 7-1 entering this afternoon?s nonleague game at St. Mary?s, and are coming off one of their biggest victories in school history. The Cougars posted a 2-1 victory over defending 3A champion Severna Park, which ended the Falcons 38-game unbeaten streak dating to 2005. Severna Park?s streak began following a loss to Chesapeake that season, as the Cougars are the only Anne Arundel County team to defeat Severna Park during the past four years.
“We’re definitely building something special here,” Page said. “This team has worked very hard and is dedicated to becoming a better field hockey team. I don’t think that was true about our team in my first year here.”
Chesapeake’s win over Severna Park came after suffering a 3-2 loss to South River, which has played in the 4A final in each of the past three seasons. But after the Cougars rebounded to defeat Severna Park, it made the race for a spot in the Anne Arundel County title game very tight.
Chesapeake (7-1 overall, 4-1 league), Broadneck (7-1, 4-1) and Severna Park (7-1, 4-1) all have one loss, but South River (8-0, 5-0) is undefeated. The two teams with the best league record play for county title on Oct. 22 at South River.
“We went into the South River game too focused and played too tight,” Page said. “We loosened up against Severna Park because we felt that we had the talent to beat South River.”
Each game also has even more significance this year as Severna Park moved from the 3A East to the 4A East region, putting the top four Anne Arundel County teams in the same Region for the state playoffs.
“We needed to prove we could beat Severna Park,” said Chesapeake senior forward Lauren Gottlieb, who had three goals in the win over Glen Burnie.
Chesapeake senior defender Jessica Crane said it will not be easy for her team to win its first region title since 2001 and first state title in the Pasadena school?s history. The Cougars have six games remaining in the regular season, including when they host Broadneck on Oct. 16 in a game in which the loser will likely be eliminated from advancing to county championship game.
“We love hanging out together and are always trying to get better,” Crane said. “But, we still have a lot of work to do if we’re going to be the best.”
