The Oak Bay High senior girls AAA field hockey team won the provincial championship, capping an undefeated season. After last season was suspended due to COVID-19, it was a slow and steady climb to the ultimate championship, said Kira Starr, a co-coach alongside Milena Gaiga.
A team made up of athletes in grades 9 through 12, much of the team has been together since the players were in Grade 9, Starr said.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had great teams (in the past) but this year they just came together,B次元官网网址� Starr said.
The team topped the podium at Islands, and headed into provincials Nov. 10 to 12 ranked second behind Handsworth secondary.
B次元官网网址淕oing into provincials our mindset was one game at a time,B次元官网网址� Starr said. All involved were aware it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be normal. No one knew what other teams really looked like, they usually face each other each fall in the Bridgeman Cup B次元官网网址� last hosted in 2019 when Oak Bay also defeated Handsworth in a shootout. It was a title the North Vancouver team held for the three years previous.
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The repeat performance two years later at provincials wasnB次元官网网址檛 an easy feat. The team is used to scoring and scoring early, so had to overcome that in the game against Sir Winston Churchill, where they didnB次元官网网址檛 score until the second half, Starr said. Then they faced Kelowna B次元官网网址� a team known for a physical, aggressive game B次元官网网址� and it came down to the final quarter.
Then came the final showdown against Handsworth, played on what Starr considers a home field with their rival, and host, Cowichan team cheering on their fellow Islanders.
B次元官网网址淲e told them to have fun. We said B次元官网网址榚njoy itB次元官网网址� because they had worked so damn hard,B次元官网网址� Starr said.
It took three shooters for Oak Bay to win the best-of-five shootout.
Team co-captain Julia Berk, Lily Amberger and Maddie Hunter notched the goals, while Anais Chace earned a shutout between the pipes.
Winning provincials was a final hurrah for many of the players as well as the coaches. High-performance athletes themselves, Gaiga B次元官网网址� a former national team player and UVic Vike B次元官网网址� and Starr B次元官网网址� also a Vike alum B次元官网网址� planned this as their final year.
B次元官网网址淲e love coaching this team. ItB次元官网网址檚 an honour to coach them and it was a poetic way to end the season,B次元官网网址� Starr said.
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