Dr. Charles Best's Sam Smith, left, takes a swing while being checked during the opening round of the B.C. senior girls AAA provincial championships at Town Centre Park.
Photograph by: Lisa King , Coquitlam NOW
It took three days to whittle down 16 teams, but when the B.C. senior girls AAA field hockey championships wrapped up, Handsworth walked away with the top prize.
The North Vancouver school handily blanked Cowichan 4-0 to take away the top prize in Coquitlam.
The top local school, Gleneagle, rebounded from a tough 4-1 loss in the semifinal to capture third place with a 2-1 win over South Delta.
Goals by Sydney Veljacic and Kim McFarlane provided the offence, as the Gleneagle Talons led 2-0 early in the second half and withstood a late South Delta attack. The Talons, who finished second in the Fraser Valley to the cross-district rival Heritage Woods Kodiaks, demonstrated plenty of spunk heading into the playoff round.
"The team is disciplined enough not to dwell on losses and is able to start each game optimistically," remarked Gleneagle coach Carol Coulson. "This tenacity and ability to work hard individually and as a team has seen us through losses and has been pivotal to our overall success."
Finishing second in their pool with a 2-1 record - their lone blemish a 1-0 loss to Heritage Woods - the Talons struck early against Argyle to advance to the semifinals with a 4-0 victory.
Michelle Per's hat trick and a single by Veljacic spurred the squad on, while netminder Courtney Tye was a standout in protecting the lead.
The loss to Cowichan was absorbed and converted into motivation to finish on a high note.
Over the tournament, Per scored seven times and co-captain Veljacic added six, while Meghan Foster and McFarlane had two apiece.
For Heritage Woods, the tourney ended on a winning note as the Kodiaks bested West Van to finish seventh. The top team in pool play, the Kodiaks suffered back-to-back 1-0 losses to Cowichan and Argyle.
The Port Moody Blues, meanwhile, defeated both the Dr. Charles Best Blue Devils and Oak Bay 1-0 to start the playoff round, but were blanked 2-0 by South Kamloops in the battle for ninth spot, settling for 10 th place.
The Blue Devils found themselves in a series of 1-0 decisions in the playoff round, triumphing against Eric Hamber. They placed 14 th overall and for the third year in a row were named the Fair Play team of the tournament.
Dr. Charles Best's Sam Smith, left, takes a swing while being checked during the opening round of the B.C. senior girls AAA provincial championships at Town Centre Park.
Photograph by: Lisa King , Coquitlam NOW
