When the Zephyr field hockey team met the Allen Canaries under the lights Monday evening, Kourtney Cunningham put a little extra charge in the game, unleashing some power of her own to win it in overtime.

With barely one minute gone in the extra session, the Zephs battled a Canary rush that had the ball deep in their territory. And when Erin Everett cleared the ball, the result was a perfect pass to Kourtney Cunningham who raced with the ball toward the goal, eluding an Allen defender with a nifty stick move to set up a one-on-one against goalkeeper Rico Santana.

Still at full speed, Cunningham seemed in jeopardy of getting too deep, but she was able to uncork a shot that found its way to the back of the cage for the game winner.

Her ability to get the ball at midfield in full stride set the stage for the goal.

"I saw that one of my teammates had the ball, and I saw them make the through run, so I just used my speed and I got around the first defender," said Cunningham. "Then I just dodged around the goalie and just shot it."

As she veered toward the right of the goal, Cunningham knew her window to score was getting tighter.

"I thought I had a bad angle, so I was just kind of hoping to swing and hope to make the goal," said Cunningham.

Santana is a tall goalkeeper who presents a challenge for opposing players.

"He can really cover most of the goal up, so you have to do a big pull to one of the sides to get him moving, and then shoot it with a lift up in the air," said Cunningham.

Their ability to transition from defense to offense in a blink of an eye is a product of practice, said interim head coach Jennifer Callahan.

"On seven-on-seven, we do a really nice job of possessing the ball, and the line-up that we play, and the way we set up on the field, is so we can possess the ball and find the high forward," said Callahan.

She said it also helps to have speedy forwards which is a hallmark of this year's team.

The 1-0 win over the Canaries officially puts them in the District XI playoffs, and continues their run of postseason play. The win lifted their season total to nine, and getting the district qualifying win over a good team like the Canaries was gratifying.

"We knew we had to work hard because we know that Allen's always a good challenge for us, and we really want to keep winning to make it far in districts, and it's very exciting for all of us," said Cunningham.

In the victory, Whitehall had 10 corners and 2 shots on goal. Kayla Nailor had one save as the defense kept Allen stymied in the zone. Allen finished with 9 corners, one shot on goal, and Santana had two saves.

Callahan said the biggest aspect to their 1-0 win was that the girls "stuck to the plan." It's something they continually talk about, and then they executed that plan to perfection on Monday night.

"They stayed disciplined and patient on defense, and then we're working together to combine the ball up the field on offense, and that's ultimately what made us succeed," said Callahan.

Making the postseason again is testament to their willingness to stick together as a group. Callahan said that they're a young team who are growing every game.

"We went 1-4 to start, and now we really found out who we are, and what works for us as a team," said Callahan. "We're playing really, really well, and that's exciting because we're on our way to districts."