South Delta Sun Devils senior girls field hockey team has achieved its fifth provincial podium finish in the program’s rich history thanks to a superb showing in Surrey.
The tournament’s No. 5 seed earned a bronze medal after outlasting the No. 3 Kelowna Owls in penalty strokes to conclude the 16-team B.C. “AAA” Championships on Friday afternoon at Tamanawis Park.
Showing their resiliency like they have done through much of the season, the Sun Devils erased a 1-0 halftime deficit on a goal from Natalie Anderson with about 15 minutes remaining.
The Owls looked poised to prevail in the shootout with an early 2-0 advantage. However, goals from Tessa Everett, Adela Padrerol and Maddy Ajromandi erased the margin and goalie Nele Vogler made three straight saves.
The result capped a most impressive four-game run against the tournament’s top seeds.
South Delta fell 1-0 to No. 2 Cowichan to conclude round-robin play with a 2-0-1 record. Defeated No. 4 Oak Bay 1-0 in the quarter-finals and was edged 1-0 by No.1 Handsworth in the semi-finals. Handsworth went on to defeat Cowichan for the North Shore school’s second straight title.
“All in all this was a great result for the girls. Going into the event we felt fifth or sixth place would be a reasonable goal, but we knew we could be competitive with some of the higher ranked teams, so there were possibilities,” said longtime coach Neil McLennan.
“They played those top teams very well. Two goals against the two highest ranked teams who basically had slaughtered everyone else was amazing. I received a number of compliments for the university coaches in attendance about the style and ability of the girls. They are an exciting team to watch and can play very attractive field hockey.”
The turning point of the tournament was the win over Oak Bay that put the Sun Devils in the final four. They had lost twice to the Island powerhouse earlier in the season and were determined there wouldn’t be a third time with some strong defensive play.
Extra time was looming when South Delta went on a counterattack and scored with just 15 seconds left.
That set-up up Friday’s semi-final clash with a Handsworth team that plays at a blistering pace and has the ability to score goals in bunches. The Royals controlled much of the territorial play, but the Sun Devils got some key early stops from Vogler and the defenders played with terrific poise under tremendous pressure.
Finally, Handsworth broke a scoreless tie in the early stages of the second half and there would be no further score. South Delta did generate a couple of corners but couldn’t find the equalizer.
The tournament began with a 4-1 win over Centennial that required some key early saves by Vogler before her teammates got rolling. A 6-1 romp over Okanagan Mission followed.
The Sun Devils roster featured: Grade 12s —Eve Carrothers (captain), Elise Ridley (captain), Maddy Arjomandi, Charlotte Lee, Amy Williams, Adela Padrerol, Annika Vaughan and Aliyah Smith. Grade 11s —Kayla Guraliuk, Megan Childs, Nele Vogler and Isabelle Holland. Grade 10s— Tessa Everett, Natalie Anderson, and Sydney Marshall. Grade 9—Kaya Davis and Heidi Leigh.
“This was a team of great character and spirit. Their work ethic, support play and trust in each other was outstanding,” added McLennan. “They never gave up on any game that they played and even not playing well found a way to turn things around and re-discover their team play.”
