Knights, Sabres going to OFSAA
KITCHENER — If there were doubters at the start of the season, they’ve quietly faded into the background.
The Bluevale Knights will participate in the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations field hockey championship for a fourth straight year, thanks to reaching Thursday’s goldmedal game of the Central Western Ontario tournament.
The reigning Ontario champions then put a cherry on top of their productive day by defeating the Southwood Sabres, 1-0, in the gold-medal game between two teams that had already secured spots at the Nov. 2-4 OFSAA tournament in Burlington.
“I don’t think anyone expected us to get this far and do what we’ve accomplished, so I’m super happy, especially for the seniors that are going to OFSAA for the fourth straight year,” said Grade 12 defender Olivia Bickers.
“We don’t necessarily have the star players this year but we play extremely well as a team and I’m so proud of what we accomplished.”
Abby Beaton scored Bluevale’s only goal in the CWOSSA final, a rematch of last week’s Waterloo County (WCSSAA) final that saw the Knights scratch out a 3-2 victory.
Beaton’s goal was the result of a short corner in the 19th minute that started with a push by Bickers to Sidney Evans, who in turned passed to Beaton.
She blasted the ball through a maze of legs and past Sabres goalkeeper Christina Perrie.
Both teams had several other chances but Perrie and Bluevale goalkeeper Kayla Desormeau were solid throughout.
There were no over-the-top celebrations or long faces after the CWOSSA final as both teams accomplished what they had set out to do in the semifinal round. Bluevale needed penalty flicks to defeat the Resurrection Phoenix, 3-1, and the Sabres moved on with a 3-2 victory over Guelph’s John F. Ross Royals.
Southwood’s Jen Bean said she was dealing with “mixed feelings” after the gold-medal game.
The Grade 12 defender is delighted to be making her fourth consecutive OFSAA appearance with a new team but disappointed for her friends and former teammates at Resurrection who won’t be making the trip.
Southwood played a role in Resurrection’s demise by defeating the District 8 champion in Wednesday’s preliminary round. Bean, a transfer student who played three seasons with the Phoenix, said that game was “stressful and different.”
On the other hand …
“It’s such an amazing feeling to be able to go back to OFSAA for my fourth year, and it’s with a different team this time so it’s a cool feeling,” said Bean.
For Resurrection, it will be the first time since the 2009 OFSAA tournament in Kitchener that the Phoenix won’t be competing. The streak includes five gold-medal performances and a pair of silvers.
Bluevale ended Resurrection’s run by surviving a hard-fought semifinal game that ended in a 0-0 deadlock after regulation and extra time.
Beaton, Taylor Faiczak and Julia Graffi scored for Bluevale in flicks, while Rachel Buttinger was the only Rez player to beat Desormeau.
“It was very stressful but it was also very exciting when we won,” said Desormeau, a Grade 9 student who has played three years with Toronto-based Goa Reds.
Southwood received two goals from Brooke Ritchie and a single by Taylor Trussler in their semifinal win over John F. Ross.
Sascha Woolcott and Kaileigh Boyd replied for the District 10 champions.
The Knights head to OFSAA with the pressure of defending their title but Bickers, who anchors the Bluevale defence with Becca Passmore, doesn’t figure that will be a factor when the competition actually begins.
“There will be a bit of pressure but we’ll have a good time, no matter what happens,” she said.
The St. John’s-Kilmarnock Eagles will also represent Waterloo Region at OFSAA, having advanced through the Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario. SJK won four consecutive OFSAA championships starting in 2006.