A Draw That Feels Like a Huge Win

The Crofton team sports nearly a full line up of Grade 12 players, most of whom are playing field hockey at a high level outside of school. They're well coached and well organized and brutally efficient at dispatching weaker opposition. Our girls frankly do match up in skill, size or speed to Crofton. However, they have a firm belief in themselves, are very capable field hockey players, are clever, and, perhaps most importantly, are fully committed to a team mentality.

They adopted a counter attack system today. A system we only employ against the opposition who have the buckets of high end skilled individuals. They ran and ran and ran. They defended stoutly. And, they showed a spark in the front that shows they can score goals if you give them the opportunity. 

The first 10 minutes was truly extraordinary high school hockey. Crofton played the ball around, looking for seems to exploit. When LFA recovered the ball, we did fabulous work isolating small two-on-ones and sticking to our formation to build our own attack. Through the first several minutes, it was remarkably even. It gave our girls the confidence. Grace Doyle '17 was simply brilliant on our free hits. Vision and poise, she distributed the ball across the field. Nicole Shi '18 was in the middle of the pitch with her and also played an extraordinarily high level of hockey to keep the middle of the pitch on an even keel. 

Our defenders were called into regular action as the game wore on. Jessica Chong '18, who is new to defence, patrolled the right side with toughness and speed. Alex Legge '19, of two games experience at defence, was simply brilliant in the middle of the pitch at the back. On the left side, Sarah Foster '17 played her best hockey in an LFA uniform on this day. When Gracie Korac '20 or Ashley Klomp '18 or Keely McConnel '17 were thrown into the back line, they fought hard, won balls and kept our counter attack options alive. For those keeping track, only Sarah has played any amount of defence at the Senior A level before this year. It's a rookie defence and they were superb.

When we did start generating opportunities, we found success on the wide sides. Eleanor Morrison '19 is possibly the most natural right half the coaches have ever seen. A soccer player, this is her only season of field hockey, but she is dynamite. Not only did she nullify a very good Crofton check, she was instrumental in building our control up the pitch. On the wide left, Ashley, Gracie and Keely did tours on the left side. Ashley looked particularly confident today and, with the Naomi Shi '18 lost to injury, we needed her to give her best game. She did.

After about 10 minutes, the field tilted slightly against us. Crofton had more pressure and more opportunities. Our keeper, Claudia Aparicio '17, was up to the task. She owned her D and had the zone going. She made, literally dozens of fantastic saves. Still at half time, we were down 1-0 off of a Crofton short corner. 

Up front was a thankless, horrible task today. Buckets and buckets of running with very little touch on the ball. Our first half was adequate, but we gave up too many short corners. The forwards committed at half time to helping back more. Lorraine Fabre '18 and Olivia Graham '17 put in one of the toughest, most hard-working shifts we've ever seen. In doing so, they set the tone that were not giving up. Allison Kuzyk '20 also elevated her game, bridging her immensely clever stick skills with a renewed toughness. She also started really running down the counter attack. When Gabby Lee '19 and Mira Teoli '18 got their shot, you got a sense we would find an opportunity or two. 

Grace was pounding balls through and finding holes. Nicole added a whole new dimension with several scoops, which are seldom seen at high school. Gabby jumped on one of these chances, simply running down a ball and outworking the Crofton defender and some clumsy tackles. She drove the D and slotted a lovely, slick shot into the lower left corner from the right side. 

Filled with belief, we brought ball back down and forced their keeper into another good save moments later. Crofton, however, countered, and ran us down. Individual skill and some missed assignments and Claudia was left alone on a hard shot that she had no chance on. Down 2-1 with minutes remaining, the girls dug in. Allison stripped the Crofton midfielder of the ball, deked another and with a third practically hanging on to her, freed Gabby on another break. With Mira and Allison supporting for passes in the D, Gabby chose the exact same spot to sink her second goal of the game. 2-2. Four minutes left.

Crofton poured on the pressure. We bent a little. Claudia made another save. Grace made several tackles, as did Elmo and Alex. We cleared. We cleared again. And the final whistle came. 

The girls put in a top effort. They earned this tie through sheer determination. It may yet prove to be an invaluable point in determining our chances of going to the Provincial Championships. Well done, Angels!