‘Indescribable’: Cox captures its fourth straight field hockey state crown and 23rd overall
Another year, another title for Cox field hockey.
The Falcons added another state championship to their already stuffed trophy case, winning a fourth consecutive and 23rd overall crown with a 2-0 victory over First Colonial on Saturday.
For the team’s seniors who have played a part in each state championship run over the past four years, it couldn’t be sweeter.
“It’s really indescribable,” Cox senior Zella Bailey said. “The feeling, it’s so rewarding. Four years of putting in all this hard work, at the end of each season, you have the same goal, and just getting to see that pay off with you and your team, with how much stuff you had to sacrifice for this, seeing it pay off is something special.”
Bailey, who tallied the overtime game-winner in Cox’s 1-0 state title win in the 2021 spring season, scored late in the third quarter to give the Falcons the lead, and Ava Ostrowski helped seal the win with a goal late in the fourth quarter.
The Falcons (20-0) held First Colonial (18-3) off the scoreboard for the third time this season. Cox also beat First Colonial 2-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the Class 5 Region A final.
“First Colonial is a really good team,” Bailey said. “Shutting them out once on turf is whatever, then you shut them out again in the region final, even harder, and then in the state final on a different surface.
“We came here, we had one goal, and that’s what we did. Taking emotion out of it, they’re a really tough opponent, and they’re five minutes away from us, so that makes it even harder, but we all felt really confident and worked for this all season.”
After going undefeated in the spring (13-0), the Falcons once again finished unbeaten, tallying another accolade in their team’s unparalleled legacy.
“It’s been awesome,” Cox coach Taylor Rountree said. “Before the game, we talked about consistency, being that team that shows up and plays for each other and is consistent every minute we’re out there. … Their legacy is that they’ve left everything on the field, and everyone understands what that means to this program.”
