A 3-0 loss to South Delta in the Fraser Valley girls field hockey finals may have been the best thing for the Heritage Woods Kodiaks, says the team’s coach, Raquel Chin.
The Kodiaks entered the climactic showdown against the perennial powerhouse on a roll, with nine wins and two draws in district play and the earlier rounds of the regional championship. But that success came at a price, said Chin. The players were tired and they were due a bit of a check to see where they stood heading into provincials that begin next Wednesday at Tamanawis and Cloverdale Athletic parks in Surrey.
“We needed to lose,” said Chin, who’s been part of the Kodiaks’ revival for two seasons after the team almost ceased to exist in 2016. “How you bounce back from a loss will define us.”
Already the Kodiaks have exceeded preseason expectations, she said. Winning the district title was an improvement on last year’s third-place finish, they matched their runner-up status at Fraser Valleys and now they’re looking to do better at provincials, where they placed 13th in 2017.
“If we can just do better, that’s not a bad goal to have,” Chin said.
But it is a big ask going against teams like South Delta, Handsworth, Argyle and West Vancouver, which have access to players attending local field hockey academies who benefit from a year-round schedule and superior facilities like special turf fields that are soaked with water to produce a truer roll of the ball.
Not that Chin is complaining. The Kodiaks, as well as her district colleagues at Centennial, Dr. Charles Best and Gleneagle secondary schools, are able to draw players from the Tri-City Eagles club program, and the schools have become a conduit to top post-secondary programs like the York University Lions in Toronto. That team just won its second consecutive silver medal at the U Sports national championship with seven players from the Tri-Cities.
Chin said to achieve success at provincials, the Kodiaks will have to continue their airtight defensive play that surrendered only nine goals in 12 games so far this season. That back end has been anchored by veteran goalie Jade Lew and senior defender Heidi Mueckel, who’ve been capably supported by a pair of up-and-coming Grade 9 players, Lachan Sanders and Emily Mueckel, as well as Allie May, who’s in Grade 11.
When defence is taken care of, that frees players to headman the ball to forwards who are confident to press on the attack and generate scoring opportunities, which they did successfully 38 times this season, Chin said.
“We try to support one another and create options in the passing lane,” she said, adding if that sounds like a simple game plan, it’s by design. “We work together as a team.”
The Kodiaks will be joined at provincials by their district rivals from Centennial and Dr. Charles Best. Success will come to the team that works hardest and is able to finish the opportunities its able to create, Chin said.
Locals lead Lions
The York University Lions lost their U Sports championship series to the University of Victoria Vikings in two straight games. After going undefeated in league and the playoffs, York lost the first game to UVic 2-1 last Friday at York’s Alumni Field. The Vikings then won Saturday’s second match, 3-1 to claim its 12th U Sports championship.
Dr. Charles Best grad Sydney McFaul scored York’s only goal late in the final match and she was named the team’s player of the game.
Other local players on the Lions’ roster include: goalkeeper Alycia Gray, a Heritage Woods’ grad, and backup keeper Sareena Gray, another former Kodiak; forward Claire Heisler, also out of Heritage Woods; midfielder Natalie Winter, from Dr. Charles Best; and a pair of Gleneagle Talons’ grads, defender Laura Touhey and forward Haley Bannister.
