Scholastic Notes

Southern region

NORTH CAROLINA

DURHAM CAPS PERFECT SEASON WITH STROKE WIN OVER CHARLOTTE

Judy Chandler has been head coach at Durham Academy since 1992, and she has had U.S. national-team members, All-Americas, and North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association championships.

But one thing her team has never been able to give her was a perfect season. That all changed in 2006, as the Cavaliers capped a 20-0 season with a sudden-death strokes win over longtime rival Charlotte Country Day School. Durham won in the sixth round of penalty strokes, 4-3, after a 1-1 draw after extra time. Hope Ronco roofed DA's sixth attempt, while Durham goalie Samantha Reuss made the save in her half-inning.

The overtime might not have happened had Chandler not made the timeout speech of her life in the last three minutes. DA had been down a goal for most of regulation after yielding the opener for only the second time all season.

"I wanted to let them know they had plenty of time left," Chandler tells The Durham Herald-Sun. "They just had to stay calm, because I knew they were going to score. But I wanted it to happen sooner than later."

How about with 61 seconds left, coach? That's when Christine Hardman equalized.

REYNOLDS OUTSTROKES EAST CHAPEL HILL IN PUBLIC-SCHOOL FINAL

When the North Carolina public-school tournament was revamped a couple of years ago, it was generally agreed that the long-established teams in the eastern half of the state would dominate the west.

But nobody accounted for Winston-Salem R.J. Reynolds (N.C.). The Demons held in with a very well-skilled East Chapel Hill (N.C.) outfit through regulation and 20 minutes of extra time with the game tied at 1-1.

That set in motion a penalty stroke shootout, won by Reynolds on their eighth attempt. Kathleen Rothschild bounced hers off the chest and leg of the ECH goalie and over the line to win the penalty-stroke shootout 4-3.

"It was pretty stressful," Reynolds coach Nancy Dixon tells The Winston-Salem Journal. "But it's a good way to win it. It's a true championship, and it went the full gamut. It couldn't have gone much further."

FARRINGTON GETS EAST CHAPEL HILL BACK ON TRACK

Donnae Farrington is not one to be loud or overconfident. Heck, with her South African upbringing, it took her awhile to learn the art of getting calls from umpires.

But after three seasons at the helm of East Chapel Hill (N.C.), she makes a very bold statement.

"Across the board, we've got a deeper core of talent, a much broader body of players, than before," Farrington told The Chapel Hill News. "We're more fundamentally sound at each position than in the other years I've been here."

And that proved to tbe the case when East took on 2005 state public school champion Chapel Hill. Tuli Lim, an aggressive presence, scored a field goal and a penalty stroke in the match. The Women In Black improved to 9-1 overall and cemented their claim to the top seed in the eastern half of the state tournament.

KENTUCKY

CLICK FIELD TO BE DEDICATED

Louisville Kentucky Country Day School (Ky.) has had a proud history through the years, and recalls a prominent figure in the fall of 2006 when it dedicates its hockey field to Weezie Click.

Click, who died Oct. 3, 2005, was a goalkeeper for the school's 1974 state championship team. She allowed just two goals that season.

For last year's notes, click here.