Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured image: York ends historic season that resulted in a 11-1 record and an OUA Championship. | Courtesy of York Lions
Coming off their first OUA Championship victory in over 20 years, the York Lions women’s field hockey team had their eyes set on an even bigger trophy this weekend: The U SPORTS National Championship.
In their way stood a UBC Thunderbirds squad that finished the season with a record of 7-0-1, and had just won their program’s 24th Canada West Championship and aimed to win their 19th national title.
The two teams met up in British Columbia this weekend to decide the winner in a best-of-three series.
Game One of the U SPORTS Championship series began on a rainy Friday evening at UBC’s Wright Field.
Ball possession was dominated by the Thunderbirds in the first half, with the first great chance coming in the 13th minute, when Thunderbird Margaret Pham’s shot was kicked away by Lion goalkeeper Brianna Fequet.
The deflection found its way to Thunderbird Abbey MacLellan, who would try to put it past Fequet, but a lunging save by the Lion keeper kept the score at nil-nil.
Although Fequet was clearly on her A-game for Game One, the UBC offense proved too much near the end of the half, when a bullet shot was sent towards the Lions net and deflected past Fequet by Thunderbird Niki Best to give UBC the early lead.
Coming out of the second half inspired, the Lions put constant pressure on the Thunderbird defense, trying to tie the game at one apiece. York’s best chance came in the 61st minute, when a pass by Michelle Per deflected off a York player, into the mask of UBC goalkeeper Rowan Harris, and into the net.
After a celebration from the York players, the goal was eventually disallowed when the referees determined that the pass had deflected off of a Lion foot, causing the ball to be dead.
UBC got an insurance goal in the 67th minute when Thunderbird Jordan Faiczak got a hold of the ball in York’s zone, off of great UBC ball movement and put it past Fequet for the goal for the final goal of the match, as UBC handed the Lions only their second loss of the season.
Game Two began on Saturday and featured a Lions team desperate to tie the series up at one game apiece.
Having played most of the first half with a defensive swagger, the Lions looked to go into halftime tied up with a team that was looking to win their seventh-straight U SPORTS championship.
This could not be done however, as the Thunderbirds converted a penalty in the 33rd minute of play, courtesy of Sophie Jones and her deadly accurate shot.
The Thunderbirds added an insurance goal in the 49th minute, when Sarah Keglowitsch sped into the Lions zone in an individual effort and slapped home her team’s second and final goal of the game. The game, which ended 2-0, also ended York’s historical 2017 season.
“They had an awesome game,” said Lions Head Coach Zeeshan Minhas, “much better than yesterday, with a lot of fight and moments that we almost had UBC, but I’m very proud of my girls today.
“It’s good for the program. This season has been fantastic—the best York’s had in a long time. I think all these girls now know how it feels to be a champion, and I’m pretty sure they are all going to continue to put in the work, which will only help improve the program.”
Despite the disappointing result in the U SPORTS championship, this is only the beginning for a Lions squad that features plenty of young talent that will improve as the years go on. Among this talent is first-year Jaslan Stirling, who was recently named U SPORTS rookie of the year and given all-Canadian honours this week.
“What Stirling has accomplished in just one year is remarkable,” said Minhas on the play of Stirling.
“She has been absolutely crucial to our success and has completely changed the way our team plays. I can’t wait to see what else she can do for the rest of her career.”
