Critical Win For Sr. A Field Hockey

With so much riding on the outcome of the game, it was surprising how slowly LFA started. We just lacked the jump that had characterized recent critical games. York quickly put their mark on the game, generating several short corners and getting the lots of zone time in our 23. Several good saves by Athena Pucovsky '19 kept it even, but eventually YHS was bound to convert, which they did on a well executed short corner. 

The goal gave LFA a little more urgency and the rate of play picked up. Somewhat against the run of play, we managed to get a short corner. Allison Kuzyk '20 made a perfect fake left, allowing Eleanor Morrison '20 an extra second on the ball as it was slipped to her. The extra time allowed her to release a lovely hard flick, which found the corner of the net. 

Both teams struggled on the field turf. Their hockey is good and the turf slows the game down horribly for such skilled teams. With the game now back and forth, York managed another goal. Like the first time they scored, LFA quickly charged back. Sophie Morris '19 found herself in a footrace with the YHS defender and managed a lovely cross net push in traffic to get it by the keeper. It might have missed except for an extraordinary effort from Naomi Shi '18, who dove to make sure it crossed the line on the right side of the post. It was back tied at 2 and our Angels were now charging. 

Finally exerting some pressure, Allison gobbled up a loose ball on the YHS 23 and drove to the net, jumping the ball past a couple of desperate tackles. The keeper got a foot on the first push, but it came back to Allison, who confidently slammed it into the net. Twenty minutes into the game and it was a shooting gallery, with LFA up 3-2. 

The game was played end-to-end for much of the rest. Times where the Angels exerted tremendous pressure and times when the Tigers did the same. Mikayla Stelling '21 had a whale of a game marking the primary York threat on the wing, which was a most unpleasant task. Yet, it was our team's commitment to marking and coming back as a coordinated group that made the difference between this game and the last game we played against York. 

The win is incredibly valuable to our group as they look to Provincial Championship qualification. As they'll be missing a couple of key players on the October 27th qualification tournament, they have their eye on winning the Vancouver Varsity League and booking their direct entry into Provincials. A loss or tie would have eliminated that possibility, so they still have their eye on that prize. 

Why not come out and cheer on the Angels as their league wraps up against Crofton on Wednesday, October 18th at 3pm at Crofton?