LFA Field Hockey Advances

LFA and York House squared off last night at Andy Livingstone field with everything on the line. Crofton had advanced to the Provincial Championship tournament, having sewed up first place in the league two weeks back. Our Angels were able to secure a critical single point in their draw with Crofton last week, but were still neck and neck with York House in the standings as YHS had taken the first meeting 2-0, back in September. It was a simple formula for LFA: win and they advance to the wild card qualification tournament on Vancovuer Island next week. A draw or a loss and YHS would advance as the #2 seed from Vancouver.

Training had gone well in the lead up to the game as we adapted our system to a team we felt we had a good handle on. Despite the setback in the earlier game, we had had the run of play. Invariably it would come down to us burying our chances when they arose and holding some key Tigers in check. The first half was a bit sloppy on both sides. LFA was able to control the midfield as YHS took a defensive posture from the outset. Alessia Vaz '15 and Meleah McKee '15 were, as ever, controlling of the centre of the pitch. We were able to get the ball out wide on several occassions, but found it difficult to get ourselves into the opposition 25 and D with control and poise. We had some lovely runs from Emma Millichamp '16 and Jordyn Shaw '15, but were unable to convert them into short corners or goals. Meghan Cavers '15 was playing sick and not in her usual wing position, but was simply brilliant, as she also took full responsiblity for checking the Tigers' main threat coming out of their backfield. The first half wound down with few good chances. Our 4 short corners failed to deliver a truly good scoring chance and we had but a single shot actually on net. 

At half time, we looked to adopt a few strategies to try and elicit some more meaningful attack. These, combined with a short but inspirational speech from Emma, seemed to turn the tide. With a far greater sense of urgency from the outset, the Angels attack started to surge. Alessia picked up her game and simply dominated the centre of the pitch. Sierra Rodrigues '14 delivered her best 30 minutes of hockey in an LFA uniform. Her sublime skills and punishing hit paid such dividends that she moved upfield, releasing Georgina Casey's insane speed to the front line. Wave after wave of attack produced a half dozen shots. Meghan had a full fledged break-away at one point. The Tigers' goalie made several glorious saves to keep the game even. With the increased push, there was always the threat of a the potent counter attack. But it never really came. Time increasingly became our enemy as three chances in a row saw the ball drift across the Tigers' D and narrowly miss players we had in the open. And then, in a flurry of quick passes and a rebound after a shot, the ball came to Emma. It must have been her third or fourth shot of the half as she burried it in the open corner with about seven minutes until time. The team rushed to celebrate, with only Laura Gugliemin '15 in goal at the far end of the pitch left out of the group hug.

The minutes wound down slowly. There was a bit of a push from York House, but largely on this day, they didn't have an answer to the team-first mentality of LFA in front of them. The couple of chances they generated were no more potent that the chances the Angels saw going the other way. Still, the final minutes were as enjoyable as you'll ever see at a high school field hockey game. Incredibly intense, everything on the line, and true end-to-end action. Congratulations to both teams on a brilliant athletic performance. Special congratulations to our Angels on their berth at the qualification tournament.

Up Next
With the win, LFA's Senior A field hockey team heads to Vancouver Island on October 29 to play off against the wild card teams from the Island and North Shore districts. The top two teams will advance to the AA Provincial Championships in West Vancouver in early November. Go Angels!