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CIS women's field hockey Sunday roundup: Conference champion T-Birds close regular season with win
Photo credit Bob Frid, UBC
Calgary 2, Victoria 2 Final
VICTORIA - The Vikes women's field hockey team contested for every ball today in their final game of the season, tying the Dinos 2-2. The Dinos move on to qualify and host the CIS National Championships with a 5-3-4 record while the Vikes finish their season with a 2-8-2 record.
The Vikes converted on penalty corner goals today as Marisa Davidson (Kelowna, B.C.) deflected a shot in the tenth minute and Sam Purcell (West Vancouver, B.C.) rocketed a straight shot in the 62nd minute.
A second half penalty corner goal by Serena Lockhart was the
game tying goal and her third of the weekend, while Kaitlyn
Longworth deflected a high ball into the mesh for the Dinos' second
goal of the game.
Sunday's game began as a complete reversal in pressure from
Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Dinos as the Vikes were nothing but
attack in the opening half. A series of penalty corners and shots,
including one saved on the line by a Dinos defender, were clear
signs of how the Vikes were determined to end their 2011
season.
The Vikes would be rewarded in the tenth minute of the game when
Whitney Siegmann's (Kelowna, B.C.) penalty corner shot was
deflected by Davidson past Dinos keeper Stephanie Petrowitsch to
give the Vikes a 1-0 lead. The UVic women would sit on their 1-0
lead for the majority of the first half with keepers Petrowitsch
and Vikes' Alexandra Martinuik (Calgary, Alta.) standing
strong.
Frustration boiled for the Dinos as midfielder Lockhart lead the
charge multiple times down the left side, trying to break the
Vikes' defence line. Strong distribution from central defender
Carolina Romeo helped the Dinos earn two corners in the final
minute of the first half but the score would remain 1-0 in favour
of the Vikes.
In the second half, both teams struggled to find their pace but in
the 43rd minute, on a Dinos penalty corner, Lockhart deflected a
shot just past Martinuik's stick to tie the game 1-1. Continued
hard work by Lockhart began to turn momentum in Dinos favour as
Longworth deflected a Lockhart cross high over a wide open net
midway through the second half.
The Dinos and Vikes then spent several minutes training
turnovers and as a result, several scoring opportunities presented
in both circles. A break down play in front of the Vikes goal mouth
resulted in a high ball being cleverly deflected into the mesh by
Longworth to give the Dinos a 2-1 lead with ten minutes left on the
clock.
Two minutes later, the Vikes would bounce back with a series of
attacking corners, the latter finished off by rookie Purcell to tie
the game 2-2. Both teams played the final minutes short as UVic's
Courtney Low (Richmond, B.C.) and Dinos' Romeo sat the final
minutes for yellow card penalties.
The final score would remain 2-2 despite a dramatic game of
back-and-forth action, injuries, cards and goals. The game will be
the final game for Vikes seniors Siegmann, Low, Angela Butress
(Vancouver, B.C.) and Jasleen Aujla (Surrey, B.C.).
Scoring Summary:
1st 2nd F
Victoria 1 1
- 2
Calgary 0 2
- 2
Goal Scorers:
Victoria - Marisa Davidson (10'), Sam Purcell (62')
Calgary - Serena Lockhart (43'), Kaitlyn Longworth (60')
Goalkeepers:
Victoria - Alexandra Martinuik 70min played 2GA
Calgary - Stephanie Petrowitsch 70min played 2GA
UBC 1, Alberta 0 Final
VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds had already locked up their ninth straight Canada West title, but they made the banner ceremony that much sweeter for themselves with a 1-0 win over the Alberta Pandas to wrap up the regular season on Sunday at Wright Field.
Canada West All Star Miranda Mann got the lone marker on a penalty corner in the 43rd minute. The ball was touched off to her at the top of the circle and she hammered a low shot through a crowd and in to put her side on top.
With the conference title already in hand, the T-Birds had some different personnel on the field at times, and weren't as tight defensively as they were in their 2-0 win over Alberta on Friday, but they still managed to keep the Pandas off the board to help goalkeeper Bea Francisco earn her league-leading fifth shutout of the year.
"I don't even think about that stuff," Kanjee said in reference to winning his ninth straight Canada West title. "I just want the kids to play well, and I thought we played very well yesterday but maybe slipped a bit today. I don't think we brought the right mindset today but it's nice to win even when you're not at your best."
The win sees UBC finish with an 8-2-2 record on the year. Alberta wraps up at 4-6-2 in third place.
UBC's Robyn Pendleton was named the Canada West MVP after the contest. She finished second in league scoring with six goals this year.
Fellow T-Bird Sarah Keglowitsch took home rookie of the year honours, and both players are nominated for the CIS awards in their respective categories as well.
In addition to Pendleton and Mann, Poonam Sandhu and Kristen Bertsch were named Canada West All Stars for UBC, as were Alberta's Jackie Trautman and Julianna Cormier.
The Pandas will still join UBC in Calgary for the CIS championships. The tournament will be held at the University of Calgary from November 3-6.
Source: UBC Sports Info
