Facing a battle against fellow division heavyweight York, Field Hockey knows its game plan: play patient, keep possession, and take shots on goal. What the team does not know is how to keep the ball off the stick of OUA scoring leader, York Lion Lauren Conforzi.
In six games, Conforzi has notched ten goals and six assists. Attempting to contain her will be the main tactic for the undefeated Blues (5-0-1) as they try to snatch away first place from the Lions (6-0-1) next Thursday at Lamport Stadium. The unenviable job of keeping up with Conforzi will be Malinda Hapuarachchi, the Blues’ captain and defensive stalwart.
“We expect Lauren to be marked tightly,” said York coach Deb Fullerton. “Our game plan is to press and keep it a close game. We can only predict what [will] happen, but keeping it close is our best chance to win.”
Fullerton’s desire to keep the game close is a sound one, as the Blues have outscored their opponents 32-3 this season, while sporting four players in the top ten in scoring. Their top forward, Cailie O’Hara, has seven goals, making her the country’s second most prolific attacker.
“Cailie is a strong player for us,” Blues coach Beth Ali said. “She’s a pure scorer, which you don’t get too often any more. She’s got an incredible shot, and they come in a huge array. She shoots them all with great speed and at any angle.”
Fullerton agreed that O’Hara was a player that the Lions must watch.
“We will have to be careful about O’Hara,” she said. “She’s such a good passer that whether she scores is irrelevant. Keeping her in check is important as she’s the only one dominant player on the team.”
While O’Hara might get all the attention, fellow Blues Heather Clark and Amanda and Shannon Treacy round out the Blues top scorer, and they must contribute to take the pressure off U of T’s main offensive weapon
Yesterday, the Blues faced off against another nemesis, Guelph (4-1-2). Last year, the Blues defeated the Gryphons 3-1 to take the OUA title, and later squeaked out a 1-0 win against them to take the Canadian Interuniversity Sport bronze medal.
No revenge was had, neither was victory savored, as the two adversaries drew two to two.
Guelph’s Rachel Hornsby was first to tally on the board, but the Blues responded when Kirsten Shire netted her penalty shot with five minutes remaining in the first. But before the whistle blew, Guelph scored another on Heather Mitchell’s shot, giving U of T their first disadvantage at the half.
After regaining their bearings, the Blues tied it up with Samantha Taylor’s goal. The last ten minutes were all Toronto, but while shot after shot singed the goal, none made their way home.
“We took control of the game,” Ali said. “If we had a couple more minutes we could have won.”
Hapuarachchi said that while the team has played better, it still is searching for its first real competition.
“There were times when we were a little scrambled,” she said. “But we still haven’t had a true test yet.”
The two goals against ended a four-game shutout streak for keeper Sarah Goertzen. She has allowed three in six games.
While the tie is something of a blemish, the Blues have dominated opponents lately. Saturday, the Blues defeated McGill 13-0. In a double-header the week before, the Blues dispatched Queen’s 5-0 before doing away with Carleton 4-0. The weekend before that, they goose-egged Waterloo 3-0, and the Blues claimed a 5-1 victory over Western to start the season.
-Mike Ghenu contributed files to this article.
