The Edison field hockey team’s wild ride through the National District tournament bracket came to an end with a 2-1 loss to Mount Vernon on Oct. 22 in the championship game at MVHS. The Eagles entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and went on the road for a pair of overtime upsets before falling short against the Majors.
Mount Vernon’s Serenna Schantz scored the game-winning goal midway through the first half — her second of the contest. Edison senior midfielder Susie Scott tied the score at 1 with six minutes into the contest, but the Eagles were shut out the rest of the way.
"We did well," Edison head coach Ginger White said. "We have a very inexperienced team that poured it on toward the end of the season when it really counted."
Edison advanced to the regional tournament with a 3-2 overtime win over No. 4 Hayfield in the opening round of districts on Oct. 19. Junior forward Lilly Payne scored the game-winning goal — her second of the evening — for the Eagles. Junior defender Jenny Melendez also scored. Two days later, Edison knocked off No. 1 Yorktown 2-1 in overtime on a penalty stroke goal by junior midfielder Alex Smith. Yorktown finished district play 7-0, including a 3-1 victory over Edison on Oct. 13.
"We knew how to counteract a few things," White said, "that beat us the first time."
Senior forward Maggie Sawyers scored also scored during Edison’s win over Yorktown .
"The difference between the two Edison games was that Edison really showed up in the district semis," Yorktown head coach Stephanie DuVall wrote in an e-mail. "They played a great game and really wanted to win."
Edison started the season with four consecutive losses by a combined score of 18-3. The Eagles bounced back with three straight wins, including district victories over Falls Church and Mount Vernon. Edison finished with a 4-3 mark in the National District.
The Eagles had two players earn first-team all-district honors, two players named to the second team and one receive honorable mention. Smith and senior goalkeeper Danielle Boyd received first-team honors, senior defender Maggie Colson and junior defender Brenna Casey earned second-team honors and sophomore defender Ally Hoover received honorable mention.
Five seniors, eight juniors, four sophomores and one freshman comprise the Edison roster, meaning the majority of the team will return in 2011.
"We’re graduating five seniors," White said, "so we’ll be back next year."