California Cup draws field hockey teams from around the world

The Monarcas (Monarchs) of Glendale field hockey team defeated the Stanford Cardinal, 8-2, in the 2006 California Cup ladies division championship game Monday afternoon on the Moorpark College campus.

Forward Jacqueline Scally and goalie Lauren Hess could relax and savor their victory after 70 minutes of play on the artificial turf field.

In the men's title game, one of 375 games scheduled during four days of the Cal Cup, the Ciudad De Buenos Aires built a 4-0 half time lead en route to defeating the Dirty Birds from Vancouver, Canada.

Both winning teams received $5,000 for their triumphs.

Scally, 28, moved to the area from Argentina in 1996 and played at Moorpark College.

She's employed at Action Real Estate Development in Agoura Hills, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications from Michigan State University, where she played field hockey.

"It definitely helped my game a lot," Scally said.

She received a master's of business administration degree in finance from California Lutheran University. Scally also likes to play soccer, but only for fun as a recreational game. Hess, 24, a marine biologist in

San Diego who was born and attended high school in Texas, is a former resident of Thousand Oaks. She also played field hockey at Michigan State where she earned her bachelor's degree in marine biology.

After seeing field hockey played, she was immediately interested in learning all she could about the sport.

"It was different and it was such an international game for me," Hess said. "I actually saw it for the first time when I was in (Washington) D.C."

Having taken her interest in the game to playing for the Monarcas, she appreciates the opportunity to play on the same team as Scally.

"She makes the goals," Hess said. "I try to stop them."

Scally's dad, Gabriel, was a field hockey Olympian in

Munich and Mexico, and her grandfather, Luis, was an Olympian in London. She's been playing the game since she was 6 years old.

"I didn't have a choice," Scally said. "It was field hockey or get kicked out of the family. It is fast and has a social aspect, keeping fit, having fun, making friends. It's a great sport to play."

Of the132 teams playing this year in the Cal Cup, whose founder Tom Harris has played in all 35 of the tournaments, 21 of them were from Ventura County.

The Monarcas team is a mix of California and international players.

Scally said that playing field hockey is a sport where fitness is the key part of the game.

"It's just about practicing discipline," she said. "In my

case, it's about playing all those years, playing with high pressure."

She said there are only six fields in California-two each at Stanford University and at the Olympic Center in Chula Vista, and one each at the University of Pacific in Stockton and at Moorpark College.

Regarding growth of the sport on the West Coast, Scally remains optimistic.

"If we could get some international games, people could see the high level of hockey," she said. "They could get exposed to what you can do if you keep at it, if we could have more fields. Moorpark is the only field in the area.

"To me it's like a natural thing. It's a great sport, great friends, and I love to play it."