Angels Find Silver Lining in Thrilling Final at Provincial Championships

LFA 7 – 0 Charles Best ::
Watch the game: https://www.youtube.com/live/HWBw8b1UgGY?si=HvurshuGVelH7FDC
Ranked #3 in the province going in, Charles Best was a complete unknown to LFA. Well coached and with several players in provincial team programming, Best had had an excellent season. Our Angels simply brought their best game on this morning. In what might have been LFA’s best game of the season, every athlete was firing on every cylinder. Passing were lazer fast and deadly accurate. Positioning was nearly flawless.

The backfield were tested, but their transition game was relentless. AnneYee was dominant in the central backfield, with searching balls into the pocket and directly to the wide side. Madi, stepping in for an injured Claire, elevated her game to a new level: ball speed being the defining characteristic of her game. Bea and Eva dominated the central midfield, though Abby on the wide, left was as influential in this game. With Abby and Serena getting the ball regularly, they simply fed the forward line with opportunities as the forwards’ relentless running kept isolating space for us to surge forward.

It would only take LFA about 3 minutes to manufacture a short corner. Amy ripped home a low flick to the corner, giving LFA the 1-0 lead. Giving up short corners to LFA is always problematic, so after some wonderful build up, another corner fell to the Angels with about 6 minutes to go in the first quarter. Though it broke down, Eva put a deceptive pass into Bea who unloaded a ripper into the far corner. 2-0 and LFA was rolling. With seconds left, another short corner from Eva went wanting as it rang loudly off the post, near the crossbar.

The second quarter started with some momentum for Best with a series of short corners, only to be foiled by good D and a confident save from Ella. About halfway through the second quarter, Serena found Amy on the slip pass. Amy cut through the D and dinked a cheeky back pass behind the keeper. Despite our press hemming Best in for the rest of the half, it wouldn’t be until we got a short corner at the buzzer that Eva could convert to make it 4-0.

The third started with more of the same. Eva lobbed a ball to Emma, who collected it nicely and rushed the D. Rachel was all over the opportunity and fired it home for 5-0. Only moments later, we got up 6-0 and we settled into a game of control. Rachel would make it 7-0. There was continued lovely passing from the back line into, the midfield, with Viki finding the pocket on several occasions to confound the Best defenders. Gabby, at right half, was able to consistently find lanes to the forward line. Sienna came within a hair of a goal on a lovely drive from AnneYee with five minutes left. Megan nearly had a rebound moments later.

On another day, the score would likely be very close. On this day, the Angels would not be denied.

 

When LFA drew Tam in the pool, we had some concerns. We’d played them a few times this year. Every game had been closer than the last. Season coaches and some sublime individual players, LFA would again bring their very best game to win and take the pool.

Certainly, it was Tamanawis who had the first chance. They managed the first short corner and played it to the near hitter, who unleashed a cannon of a shot that Ella calmly blocked, as if it was no big deal. It was a great save. From there LFA began to assert themselves. On a sequence shortly after, Michaela had two lovely shots denied, as did Eva on a rebound. Mattea was denied moments later.

Claire would only play a few minutes this tournament due to injury, but she was simply perfect in defending Tam’s top threat. Her transition out, meant that every turnover she created invariable led to a chance the other way. It would be a Claire clear that led to Emma eventually getting up front and finding a short corner that would again turn the tides. On another perfect stop from Serena from a perfect injection by Claire, Eva calmly ripped one into the top right corner of the net for a 1-0 lead with only a minute or two left in the first quarter. LFA leaned into their advantage from there. Eva lobbed one deep that Sofia chased down wonderfully, moving the ball back to Bea, who moved it right to Serena who cut it back to Amy… who walked across the D and sliced home a beautiful reverse hit.

With the second quarter started, LFA was now in full swing. The ball movement seemed unstoppable. Mattea narrowly missed on a gorgeous slip from Amy. Mattea had another save moments later after a lovely swing in by AnneYee. But then we had a bit of a wobble and were forced into 10 minutes of solidly defending our lead as Tamanawis pushed forward. We fought through, with some great defending. Coming out the other side, Serena took a great feed and forced the goalie into a save. The rebound was collected by Bea, who found Michaela, who had the vision to spot Eva at the top: she flung one high that forced another great save. Rachel nearly had the rebound. Amy followed up with a quick free ball and found Eva at the top of the D on the slip. A good low shot to the corner for Eva and we were up 3-0. A minute later, Rachel nearly had one on the reverse, only to be follow up with an incredible save on a high ball from Abby.

The third started with a typically lovely sequence where Michaela found Rose, who fed Mattea for an opportunity that narrowly went out the endline. And then, as if on built confidence, Eva quick-passed to Rose, who had her head up and slid a lovely bit of sauce to Michaela, who two touched it against the run for a beauty of a goal. Eva would then find Amy in the D, who again went weak side and ripped home another tomahawk. 5-0 and LFA looked unstoppable.

The fourth quarter, LFA simply kept to its game. The ball moved, as if on a string. Eventually a short corner was awarded on some great interchange between Gabby and Sofia. When we reversed the short corner to Bea, she put a hard, low shot into the corner. In the waning moments of the game, Eva would feather a pass through to Gabby who made a wonderful cross. The goalie made the block, but Serena pounced on ball, putting it to space… where Gabby anticipated and charged to the ball. Rather than shoot, she saw Rachel out front and put it right on her stick for the easy tap-in.

The score said “all LFA”. Truth be told, Tamanawis was really good on this day and never once gave up. We just had so much finish on the end of the most wonderful team game when we had our turn with possession.

 

The quarter final matchup pitted the Angels against fellow Sea to Sky Zone team Argyle, who had upset St. Michael’s University School in their pool. Capable and well organized, Argyle featured nearly as many provincial team players as LFA. If it wasn’t the crossover we’d hoped for, the team responded wonderfully.

The game itself started in driving rain. Really, really hard rain, to the point of there being puddles in places on the water-base turf. The conditions made it difficult to string together passes at first. As we settled into the rhythm of the game, our movement laterally was excellent, but we couldn’t seem to connect with the forwards. Serena came from the midfield and had a good look midway through the first quarter. Eva got us a late quarter short corner and Amy had a really good flick. Which all led to the Argyle keeper, who was excellent and handled our chances with confidence.

The second started well. Eva found Rose who got a shot and Serena pounced on the rebound. Saves. Bea got us a short corner. Amy’s flick was saved. Bea’s rebound was saved. Another short corner followed. The option to Bea was saved. Some good possession led to a shot by Sofia. Saved. Eva drove in. Saved. With all the possession, Argyle were too good to not eventually have a counter attack. While Michaela, AnneYee and Madi were excellent, but gave up a short corner that forced at truly excellent save from Ella. We responded with a wicked hit from Amy that was saved and, then, somehow the goalie got a stick on Mattea’s rebound. The quarter ended with LFA pushing into the Argyle D and you could worry that for all the pressure and opportunities, the Argyle saves might lead to frustration setting in.

The third started with more LFA pressure. Our forwards doing wonderful work to press the Argyle D into turnovers. Emma pushed forward and collected a forward pass, turned and ripped it across the face of goal. Abby was there but the shot was left wanting. On the one counter of the quarter, Argyle managed a vicious tomahawk and though it was wide, Kaitlyn looked confident as she followed it high and wide. It was always going to be our press that gave us the moment to turn the game and sure enough, Bea jumped on a ball and drove forward, putting a lovely bit of 3D on her pass to Amy, who gave it the one touch into the net before colliding with the Argyle keeper. Unfortunately, the Argyle keeper was hurt in the collision and would have to leave the game.

With a newly dressed keeper, Argyle dug in and forced the game to neutral territory. A wonderful bit of defending by Madi saved one counter attack. AnneYee and Michaela were perfect in the possession. Eva’s aerial game allowed us to consistently relieve pressure but the quarter settled into a relative stalemate. When we finally broke through, Serena found Eva who was (accidently) hauled down hard. A little hurt and very angry, Eva injected for a slip to AnneYee who had a lovely crack at net. Rose was there, but the new keeper proved up to the task. When Eva found Mattea at the back post moments later it was nearly 2-0. In the end, LFA had to settle for the slimmest of margins going into the fourth quarter.

We started fourth with purpose, surging forward. A short corner flick by Amy was saved. LFA was now coming at Argyle in waves. Mattea had a tight angle shot saved. Moments later, AnneYee took a short side sweep that absolutely rocketed into the far corner. It was clearly tipped, but by a defender or one of our sticks was irrelevant. We had the cushion we needed to take the pressure off the game, though Amy had a stunning deflection for a lovely save on a similar short corner minutes later. A great sequence of Sofia to Eva to Abby got us another short corner.  As the game wound down, it was LFA on the attack. Set plays run through Amy and AnneYee produced a couple of saves from the Argyle keeper, who did remarkably well having come in cold midway through the game.

With the win, LFA had secured its fourth Provincial semifinal in four years against old rival, Collingwood.

 

With the rain having relented from the morning game, LFA faced off against Collingwood in the semifinal… again! Like 2022 and 2023… and 2024. Two well matched teams came out fast and looked the part of teams seeking a provincial championship.

From early moments, it was back and forth. With Eva under suffocating marking, Bea really took control of the centre of the field—made possible by heads up play from a back line that started with Amy, AnneYee and Madi. That said, the first save of the game went to Ella, who calmly parried a good shot from blue. When Mattea ran down a long ball from AnneYee moments later, LFA was able to generate its own attack. In other words, it was back and forth as both teams tried to find an opening. Only at the quarter buzzer did we find a moment where Eva ripped one into the D from the baseline. Rachel was ready and would have had a glorious opportunity but for the foot—and short corner! Amy’s initial flick hit the first runner’s foot, giving way to a second short corner. Thinking it was back to Amy, her slip was perfect to AnneYee, who ripped one at Emma, who deftly deflected it into the net earning Emma a well-deserved fist-pump celly.

The second opened much like the fist. Back and forth. Madi injected some tenacious left-back defending to nullify their right side attack. Up front, our pressure from centre-forward, Michaela caused upset in the Collingwood attack. But it was still a game between th2 25s for the most part. Sofia had some good baseline moments, as did Rachel. Rose got on the end of a nice ball in but couldn’t generate a great shot. Serena eventually forced a short corner off of a Bea steal, but a good defending stick kept Amy’s shot from being on target. The quarter was much like the first: not much between the teams.

With the sun out for the third quarter and low on the horizon, it suddenly felt a factor in the game as Angels founds themselves shading their eyes. Still the two teams played in the middle of the pitch, with a slight edge in short corners to LFA, which produced some nice saves from the Collingwood keeper and a remarkable goal line stop from the Collingwood postman on one of our options early in the third. We had moments of inspiration: Abby slipped a lovely pass along to Michaela, who found Emma at the top of the D. But ultimately both teams were dogged in their defending and neither goalie was contending with many shots on net.

By the fourth, both teams were looking tired. While LFA maintained its structure, it was turning into giveaways in both directions. And still no one could break through. Eventually Serena and Bea were able to find a foot for a short corner with about five minutes left. Eva forced a good save and AnneYee another on the rebound. By the final two minutes it was just two teams pushing it forward at one another, with every possession a turnover the other way. After some wonderful team hockey to get it forward, we had a gorgeous pass across the front of the empty net (for the pulled goalie) that was just beyond Mattea’s reach. Still, the time was nearly up and LFA managed to eat up the time and carry home the win to put LFA into Friday’s championship final.

 

LFA 4 – 5 Handsworth ::
Watch the Game: https://www.youtube.com/live/2Kk1zUN_-Yk?si=JLxwYuhfvgowUGLN

The matchup for the final included the tournament’s clear favourite and #1 ranked team with Handsworth. LFA was so pleased to be there, as any of the teams from second-ranked Crofton to sixth-ranked SMUS can beat each other on any given day.

From the opening whistle, both teams were clearly ready to play. LFA surged forward, with Mattea and Rose working the opportunity that got them a long corner. It was widely surprising that Handsworth were awarded a penalty stroke on a shave tackle that seemed to get the ball. Kaitlyn, who had never faced a penalty stroke in a game before, nearly had the shot, getting a bit of her stick on it. That said, LFA did not get down. Abby got a good ball into Michaela moments later: Micky turned strong and got it across the face of goal to Rose. Rose managed to get it towards net, where Mattea was ready to push it in. 1-1. But only for about three minutes, before Handsworth was able to isolate the endline and get a ball across the face of goal that Kaitlyn had no chance to stop.

Down a goal, LFA surged forward. Michaela got a chance for a shot, but had her stick knocked as defending in the D was desperate. Moments later, Eva found Rachel who couldn’t quite get on the end of it. Amy then creamed one in and Rachel got a touch, forcing a save before a short corner was given. Amy got off a flick, only to be stopped with a foot. A second short corner slipped to Bea who forced the goalie into a good save. Our forward in the press worked relentlessly to contain the Handsworth ball movement. Meanwhile, our backline of Amy, AnneYee and Madi were so good in their coverage. But for the stroke, nearly everything about the first quarter was even and it felt like our Angels had it in them to bring it back to even.

Though LFA had much of the danger zone possession through the early part of the quarter, LFA found themselves with another penalty flick against them that left them confused… and down 3-1, despite Ella nearly getting to it. If it might have sagged their spirits, you would have never guessed. Instantly, Serena found Michaela off the baseline for a shot that forced a good save from Handsworth. LFA continued to push and Eva found a foot for a short corner. When Amy slipped the ball to AnneYee and her shot clipped the defender foot on the way into the net, LFA got a penalty stroke back. Amy walked up and calmly flicked into the left corner having dropped a little right fake into her motion. It was 3-2 and LFA had their mojo. Push, push, push. Serena and Amy took over the right side of the pitch, working 2v1’s and finding forwards. Sofia had a good chance with three minutes to go from an Amy/Serena bit of skill. An important steal by Bea led to an Amy drive into the D, which was beautifully tipped by Rachel, forcing both a save and a short corner. AnneYee’s push in wasn’t enough, but it forced the long corner that Eva quickly slid to Serena. Serena walked the baseline three steps and ripped a pass that Amy one-timed to the far corner. Barely 90 seconds left in the half and LFA was all even.

The second half started at a frenetic pace and only two minutes in, the Handsworth forward found herself alone at the top of the D between two LFA defenders, firing a tomahawk through the wickets, as Ella couldn’t quite get it. From there, the game moved into a phase where both teams tried to find openings. Defending was excellent on both sides as each side probed for an opportunity. Ella was called upon to make a couple good saves from free play and calmly blocked a loping flick on a short corner. LFA came back down and Amy found a short corner for us. An early jump cost us our injector for the ensuing short corner, but Eva made the most of it, forcing a sprawling save from Handsworth. In the to and fro, Handsworth ended the quarter with a short corner. The give and go looked certain for a shot, but in the big wind up for a hit, Eva managed to get a stick on the ball to deflect it away.

The final quarter got going with LFA working the ball around. The athletes had an extra step. Bea and Amy stole balls on errant passes. Michaela pressed. Serena made tackles—one that got her feet caught up and landed her a green card. Moments later, a similar play landed Handsworth in the sin bin too. As the intensity ratcheted up, a Handsworth player intentionally interfered on Amy as she took a free hit, forcing the umpire to card her. With new space, LFA started to really take advantage of their passing and moved the ball around with purpose. AnneYee spotted Eva on the 25 and laid in a perfect pass for Eva to take it at speed, walking the defender and calming firing a low flick the was post-and-in and tie the game with nine minutes to go! The crowd seemed absolutely delighted with the excitement of the moment! 4-4 and everything to play for. When Eva put a pass across the face of goal two minutes later, Mattea nearly had it! It was agonizingly close.

Unsurprisingly, Handsworth pushed back. They earned a late short corner with three minutes left. They gave, but with no go, the shot went harmlessly wide. With two minutes left, Handsworth went 3D into a group of players. As LFA looked to see how the call had gone, Handsworth took it quickly, into the D and hit it hard off of a stick into the net. Though it seemed not to move the required 5 meters before entering the D, the umpire was on the spot to make the decision and allowed it. LFA was torn in the protest only 90 second remaining. LFA surged. Everyone forward. Rose had a chance and it seemed to hit a foot for a short corner. LFA won the ball back and fired it into the D. Desperate for a short corner, it just didn’t happen. It was just a bridge too far to come back one last time.

Though fantastically disappointing to get so close, this LFA team was extraordinary. The team chemistry was special. The effort they put in was special. Their class and grace in victory and defeat was special. The journey, perhaps more than the outcome, will be a memory these athletes cherish for a long time to come. For Amy and Claire, who played Senior hockey from grades 9 through 12, it will be 3 silvers and a bronze over four provincial championships. A remarkable feat for the two of them. For all the seniors, we wish them the very best are excited to follow many of them at the university level! Go Angels!