In In playoff hockey, an ugly goal quickly becomes a necessary goal. Players who are willing to fight through traffic are often rewarded with visually unspectacular moments.
For Annmarie Gambescia, a senior forward on the Lake Braddock field hockey team, scoring the tough, often-deflected goal has become an added weapon to her arsenal this season.
Through five postseason games prior to Wednesday night’s Northern Region championship at Oakton High School, Gambescia had scored five goals, each less highlight-worthy than the next. But as a result, Gambescia’s work around the cage has been one of the primary reasons Lake Braddock claimed its seventh region title under coach Diane Miller.
With 28 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the second half, Gambescia netted her sixth goal of the playoffs and 11th overall, lifting Lake Braddock to a 2-0 win over Westfield.
“There aren’t words to describe this feeling,” Gambescia said. “This is what we’ve been working for all season.”
“She’s real good about standing in front of the goalie,” said Miller, who has been the Bruins’ head coach since 1981. “If someone hits it, all you have to do is stick your stick in there and it’ll easily deflect in. That’s how she has scored most of her goals.”
With region tournament wins over Chantilly, Woodson, Annandale and now Westfield, the Bruins atoned for a Patriot District tournament upset suffered against the Atoms. Lake Braddock improved to 22-1 on the season and will face the Central Region’s runner-up on Thursday at 3 p.m. in Virginia Beach for the Virginia AAA state tournament.
<b>BUT AGAINST WESTFIELD</b>, a team the Bruins had beaten 2-0 in a scrimmage on Aug. 14, Lake Braddock mustered offense early, although there was no tangible result. The game remained scoreless through the opening half until Gambescia’s tally.
Nearly 10 minutes later, on a penalty stroke, senior midfielder Katie Klatt gave the Bruins a 2-0 advantage, flicking a shot over the left shoulder of Westfield goalkeeper Nicole Ficarra.
“I was really nervous,” said Klatt, a first team All-Region performer who now has seven goals and eight assists this season. “I just walked up there calmly and did what I normally do at practice and it worked.”
Though Westfield wasn’t able to get on the score sheet, the Bulldogs had several offensive chances. Westfield held a 7-6 advantage in penalty corners and was only outshot, 6-5. Westfield will also advance to next week’s state tournament as it will face the Central Region winners on Thursday at 1 p.m. in Virginia Beach.
As the Concorde District champions, Westfield erased an 8-8 season from a year ago and beat Chantilly, 2-0, last Thursday to win the district title.
Like Lake Braddock’s loss to Annandale, Westfield will hope to use Wednesday’s defeat as motivation heading into the state tournament.
“You get beat, you regroup, you continue on,” said Westfield coach Terri Towle, whose team fell to 19-4 this season. “[The state tournament] is going to be a new challenge for us, and I think we’re excited about it. They have until practice tomorrow to feel bad about the loss and then regroup and move on.”