The BC AA High School Provincial Field Hockey Championships brought 250 visitors and exciting field hockey competition to Oliver on November 6th, 7th and 8th.
The grass fields were in great shape. The weather was good…even beautiful at times. The teams competed intensely for the coveted blue championship banner that would go to the eventual winner.
The 12 teams that competed were from Nelson, Kelowna, Chilliwack, Surrey, Victoria, Mill Bay, West Vancouver, Vancouver, and Oliver. Seven teams were from independent schools and 5 were from public schools. Our SOSS team came into the tournament as the 8th seed, in a pool with the 2nd seed, 5th seed, and 11th seed. SOSS played very well, placing 2nd in their pool to win a berth in the playoff round.
SOSS played 4th seed GW Graham in its first playoff matchup and beat them 2-0, which meant the local team was in the semi-final!
Tired and a bit battered by the Saturday morning semi, the SOSS girls put up a gargantuan fight against Crofton House, whose talented team had proven its dominance many times this season.
The SOSS field players and goalie Sierra Callander stymied every attack, and kept fighting long after their own offensive game had been sacrificed in their desperation to keep the ball out of their net.
The semi-final went into overtime and then shootouts, where Crofton House prevailed.
The SOSS girls fought a similar battle against Collingwood in the bronze medal match, and lost 1-0 on a good early goal. SOSS finished 4th, the top public school in the tournament.
The local girls improved every game and fulfilled their weekend goal: “bring everything we have, and leave it all on the field.”
The players and coaches truly appreciate everyone who helped us host this event at SOSS, the Kiwanis club for their financial support, and the many community members who came to support us.
Lesley Noftle
Special to the Chronicle
