Angels Advance to Top Tier at UBC Tournament

The tournament didn't start as well as our girls might have hoped. Their Thursday night game pitted them against a big, strong and skilled Kelowna team. The team played well, but were unable to break down the press that Kelowna applied. Leaning on a couple of their key, skilled players, LFA found it difficult to generate control the midfield and advance up field. Nicole Shi '18 and Eleanor Morrison '19 worked hard and the team found some traction when Grace Doyle '17 moved to the outside half, but it was tough sledding. Kelowna were rewarded for their early pressure with a lucky bounce that flung the ball over the outstretched hands of Claudia Aparicio '17 in goal. Emma Millichamp '16, Abby Lee '16, Frances Scheepers '18, Amelia Wallace '20 and Julie Cho '16 put in great work on the back line, keeping the pressure at bay on the last line of defence. Good build-up led to a counter-attack goal before the end of the first half, but another Kelowna goal on a goal-mouth scramble in the second half was deserved for their better play. 

The 2-1 loss to Kelowna seemed to galvanize the team. They came out charging on Friday morning. Trail's JL Crow ran into a particularly determined Angel team this morning. The Angels put on extraordinary pressure. Grace moved to the back line, which was very calming to the team. Abby moved to the midfield and was, frankly, a revelation in our attack. Naomi Shi' 18 moved into the centre of the midfield and worked wonderfully with her sister, providing skill and poise to the centre of the pitch. With the control of the midfield, our forwards ran rampant. The lone goal by Allison Kuzyk '20 was fair reward for the magic she offers us up front. Her and Kiera Dumas-Wong '16 were simply dominant while Lorraine Fabre '18 offered us structure through some simply perfect system work. It was the most complete game the girls had put together this year and it was a joy to watch them play as a team in such a way that seemingly endless sequences of passes up and down the field were common place. 

The tournament's third game gave us another opponent we seldom see, getting a game against South Kamloops. Another athletic and strong team, we gave up strength and speed to our opponents. What we delivered for the second game in a row was a team-based approach that confounded our opponents. Our first goal came off some incredible right-side work, largely sparked by Abby's good decision making to use Nicole in the middle of the pitch. Alex Legge '19 did great work with Eleanor and we were suddenly rounding the right side and slicing across the D. The second half brought another goal and we did well, as ever in defence, as Julie, Grace, Emma and Frances shut down the Kelowna threats. One of the highlights was a ridiculously well executed short corner: our most complex short corner play was pulled off to perfection and Nicole unleashed a high, rocket of a shot that was picked out of the air by a lucky stick. The whole erupted with excitement on the bench. You could just sense the team coming together in every facet of the game. 2-0 was a fair final score reflecting the good work and edge we held.

The final game of the day was like the first two. The team-play and commitment to system made us simply too much for Chilliwack's Sardis School. The first half showed that we were a little tired--though more mentally than physically. Still Naomi and Nicole controlled the midfield and did well to find Keira endlessly. Ashley Klomp stepped into the centre forward position and gave us a new look that we'll certainly go back to before the season is finished. Emma Coupal '18 played her best hockey of the tournament, getting herself in position to create several short corners, the first of which was nicely converted by Grace. Only ahead 1-0 at the half, we used half time to discuss why we weren't having more success for our obvious edge in organization. The second half the Angels simply dominated. Gabby Lee '19 was dangerous with every touch on the wing and rewarded with a goal. Allison, working with Gabby and Keira were overwhelming. When we added Olivia Graham '17 to the equation, her speed had the Sardis defence on their heels. The Sardis goalie was forced into countless saves. Three goals came and, at 4-0, we took the foot of the gas just a little, which allowed Sardis to counter attack much more. Claudia was called into making several top quality saves. Sarah Foster '17 provided excellent defence, where she stepped in, having played a lot of midfield previously this tournament. Sarah, Emma, Grace, Frances, Amelia and Julie were collectively a step better at every turn.