Cox needs OT to win third straight, 22nd overall title
VIRGINIA BEACH — In many ways, 2021 has been a year like no other.
But in the midst of so much change — games with empty stands, football in March — at least one thing remains the same: Cox sits alone atop the Virginia field hockey world.
The Falcons captured their third straight state championship and 22nd overall as they outlasted Stafford 1-0 in overtime to earn the Class 5 state field hockey title Saturday at Kellam High School. Junior Zella Bailey scored the game-winning penalty stroke for the Falcons.
“Oh my gosh, I was so nervous,” Bailey said. “I was shaking.
“But I knew we practiced them all the time after practices, so you just walk up there with a confident mindset. The team depends on you and you depend on yourself. You just got to do it and get the job done.”
Coming into Saturday’s matchup, both Cox and Stafford were undefeated with 13-0 records. But when one team is Cox, the other team is always going to be the underdog.
Through regulation play, the Indians and Falcons looked just about evenly matched. Cox managed to generate plenty of scoring opportunities, keeping Stafford’s defense on its heels, but every time the Indians came up with a goal-line stand.
Goaltender Caitlyn Kahn had several huge saves to keep Cox’s dominant offense off the scoreboard through 60 minutes of play.
“It was frustrating at times, but
it was a great game,” Cox coach Taylor Rountree said. “Stafford came out on fire. They’re an incredible team.”
Cox, which hadn’t played an overtime game this season, had to “dig deep” to pull out the win, according to Rountree. “We knew that this game was going to come down to heart,” she said.
Several Falcons came up big in overtime, including goaltender Abby Spear, who stopped the Indians on a corner shot early in overtime to give Cox a chance. Bailey’s goal had even more significance for Rountree, who is Bailey’s mom.
“It was a proud mom moment,” said Rountree, who confessed that she wasn’t able to watch when her daughter was taking the stroke. “I don’t know where she went.” For Cox, the biggest thing is playing for each other and the Falcons teams that have come before them, as well as the ones that will come after. The Falcons have worn pink scrunchies all season in honor of former coach Nancy Fowlkes, who led the Falcons during much of the dynasty. Fowlkes, who is fighting breast cancer, was in the stands for her first game this season to see the legacy she helped shape continue to grow.
“She’s our everything,” Rountree said. “She is the legacy.”
Despite all of the many, many wins, the feeling still hasn’t gotten old for Bailey, who has won a state title in all three of her seasons with the Falcons.
“The feeling is just indescribable,” she said. “Me and my teammates, I wouldn’t be here without them. This is an experience I wish everyone could have, but for us it’s awesome.
“And it’s a tradition, and that’s exactly why I wanted to go to Cox.”