The South Delta Sun Devils have wasted little time in asserting themselves in the new landscape of high school senior girls field hockey.
Last year’s provincial bronze medalists opened South Fraser Zone league play with a 5-0 win over McMath Wildcats last week.
After dominating the old Fraser Valley format, the Sun Devils are part of a new zone that features teams from Delta, Surrey and Richmond.
That narrows the competition down considerably, especially since the Wildcats are the lone team in Richmond. Surrey schools include Panorama Ridge, Sullivan Heights, Clayton Heights and Enver Creek. The six-team league means only one provincial berth is certain.
McMath has also enjoyed a solid run in recent years, capturing the Vancouver/Richmond Zone playoffs. However, the Steveston school is in a transition year with only two Grade 12 players and an expected rivalry with South Delta may have to wait until next season.
Longtime SDSS coach Neil McLennan has seven players back from last year’s standout team but still had to do some scrambling to ensure the roster was big enough to continue.
The Sun Devils have already made a trip to Vancouver Island for the Friendship Cup in Duncan. Not feeling his squad was ready to take on perennial powerhouses such as Cowichan and Shawnigan Lake, South Delta entered the less competitive division where it produced wins over St. Michael’s University, Brentwood and Ontario’s MM Matheson. A rematch with SMU in the final saw the Victoria school prevail in a shootout.
“We were leading 1-0 with a minute or two to go and then things went a little sideways,” said McLennan. “However it was a good weekend. We played some decent games, had a little success, were able to begin forming as a team but at the same time found things we have to work on.”
The Devils will play just two home league games at Winskill Park — Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 — and also make their annual trip to Victoria for the Bridgman Cup over the Thanksgiving Weekend. The final tune-up before playoffs will be the Golden Pumpkin in Surrey — Oct. 24-25.
