The two persons happiest about the outcome of yesterday's Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference field hockey championship at McDonogh didn't even play in the game.
Chris and Kelly Burke were all smiles after No. 9 St. Paul's and No. 13 Roland Park battled for 80 minutes to a 0-0 double-overtime tie, finishing their season as co-champions. That's a share of the title for the Burkes' twin daughters - Shannon, the pivotal player in the game with 23 saves for Roland Park, and K.C., the backup goalie for the Gators.
"It's the best of both worlds for us, really," said their father Chris Burke. "When the initial hour was over, I was hoping it would end in a tie. When it was completely over, I was relieved."
During the 20 minutes of seven-on-seven overtime, K.C. Burke, who did not play, kept the Gators' score book on the sideline, marking off each of her sister's six saves.
The last may have been the biggest of all.
With 1:20 left in overtime, Shannon Burke made an aggressive move to challenge Kristen Connelly one-on-one about 6 yards from the cage. She stopped the ball initially but went down as it caromed slightly to her left, giving Connelly enough space to shoot toward the far post.
"That was quite nervewracking," said the sophomore keeper. "She hit it past one of my defenders and I tried to come out to slow her down, but I slipped. The only thing I could do was try to dive back to recover. Thankfully, she hit it a little wide."
Connelly was a big force in a potent Gators attack in the tournament, scoring all the goals in a 4-0 quarterfinal win over No. 14 Park and one in the 5-0 semifinal win at No. 2 Severn.
The senior forward gave credit to Burke, who allowed four goals in the Gators' 4-2 regular-season victory over the Reds, for preserving a share of the title for Roland Park (9-4-5).
"She's just an incredible goalie," said Connelly. "She has awesome slides, so I knew she was going to slide. I just tried to get it around her and I hit it too far."
The Gators (13-4-3) played a terrific defensive game overall. Alexandra Eagan led a unit that held off the Reds despite 10 shots. Goalie Brooke Chrzan made eight saves, including one in overtime.
Though both teams found sharing the title bittersweet, reaching the final was a lot more than many in the league expected of either. The Gators were seeded fourth and the Reds sixth.
The Gators, especially, were hoping to come away with an outright title after sharing the championship with Bryn Mawr a year ago.
"Obviously, to tie two years in a row is frustrating," said Gators coach Annie Smallwood. "They just need to remember that it's a huge accomplishment to get here two years in a row and to tie. It's not just scoring, but also preventing the other team from scoring, which they obviously did a great job of."
B Conference
Glenelg Country School won a third straight B Conference crown with its ninth shutout of the season, 2-0 over Seton Keough.
The Dragons (10-5-2) allowed only two goals to B Conference foes this season after going unscored upon in the conference last year.
Senior goalie Liza Jacobs had to make only one save yesterday, because the defensive unit in front of her - Stephanie Wesley, Nikka Harbick, Elie Atkins and Alison Murphy - held the Gators (9-11) at bay most of the game.
The Gators also had a fine defensive showing, led by goalie Danyelle Jackson, who made some superb stops among her seven saves.
Jackson made a terrific diving save with 10:50 left in the first half, but she ended up on top of the ball, giving the Dragons a penalty stroke.
Atkins put the stroke into the low left corner before the diving Jackson could reach it.
Katie Bauer added an insurance goal midway through the second half.