It was a tournament of ups and downs for the number-one ranked Varsity Blues field hockey team as they hosted the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships this weekend at Lamport Stadium.
In Friday’s semi-final, the Blues faced their arch-rival, the defending OUA champions and third-seeded Waterloo Warriors. Although the team battled fiercely against Waterloo, they were unable to grab any scoring opportunities, driving the game into a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
Despite goals by Philippa Kedgley and Alex Chacinski, U of T lost 5-4 in sudden death strokes. The loss forced the Blues into the bronze medal game against the Queen’s Golden Gaels. “The defeat is unfortunate. It just plain sucks,” summed up head coach Beth Ali.
Knowing they had to overcome adversity, the Varsity Blues stepped onto the cold and wet turf on Saturday with one goal in mind-to leave the OUA championships with a bronze medal finish.
The team was on a mission. There was no chit chat or fooling around during warm-up. Silence fell on the Blues as they all concentrated on forcing the semi-final out of their heads. There would be no negativity today-this game was all about confidence.
The first half of play turned into a scoreless grudge match, with very little scoring opportunities from either side. Goalie Sarah Lipton made a fantastic diving save at 10:14 against a Queen’s penalty shot. Only with 36 seconds left in the half did the game break down for a split second when Blues forward Kedgley missed her breakaway opportunity. At the half, the game was tied 0-0.
Early on in the second half, rookie Amanda Treacy had two very close scoring chances and at 48 minutes into the game Lipton made three huge saves in a row to keep the score at a 0-0 tie. Much like the first half, the Blues intensified the pressure with seconds to go as forward Janet French missed her shot by mere inches. It was once again time for the dreaded sudden death shootout.
The loss in overtime against Waterloo was still thick in the team’s mind as they quickly fell behind 1-0. The first goal would be the last for Queen’s, as the Blues rose to the occasion. First and second team OUA all stars Kedgley and Chacinski, along with rookie of the year Kristina DoRosario, overcame the pressure by beautifully netting all three of their shots. Lipton shut out the remaining three Queen’s shooters.
The final score was 3-1, Varsity Blues. The team embraced each other excitedly as their victory proved they could overcome defeat and prevail in the face of adversity. As Sarah Lipton put it, “it shows character to lose a semi-final and to win a bronze medal; it shows good things for next year.”
