Shawnigan Lake School battled to a second-place finish at the provincial AA field hockey championships in Victoria last week.
Shawnigan won all three games in pool play, easily beating L.V. Rogers and Southern Okanagan in the first two. Crofton House put up a challenge in the last round-robin game, but Shawnigan came away with a 3-1 victory.
Shawnigan dispatched their Island rivals from St. Michaels University School in the quarter-finals, then faced Little Flower Academy in the semis. Little Flower took a 1-0 lead in the first half, but Shawnigan managed to tie the score on a short corner with five minutes left in the game. The teams went to a shootout, where unflappable goalkeeper Aysia Rennie backstopped Shawnigan to a 4-1 victory.
The final saw Shawnigan lose 2-0 to Collingwood. Despite the result of the gold-medal game, head coach Andi Conroy was thrilled with her team’s performance.
“This bunch of athletes and young women have shown the true value of sport and grit and determination,” she posted on the school’s website. “I could not be prouder of them and their fight for personal excellence and team comradeship.”
Conroy also praised her assistant coach for helping shepherd the squad through the fall season.
“Dani Robb has been a great coach and mentor for these young women, and without her, this season would not have been a success,” she said.
Brentwood College School also reached the AA provincials, earning their berth with a lopsided 8-0 win in a wildcard game against Clayton Heights.
Brentwood ended up in the consolation bracket after pool play, but won out, beating Glenlyon Norfolk 3-1, Southern Okanagan 4-0 and Lambrick Park 2-0 to finish ninth.
“The girls really gelled as a team this year and the learning curve on the turf was significant, especially for our goalies with shootouts and strokes,” Brentwood coach Natasha Ostopovich said. “The final two games at provincials were some of the best games this year. With such a young team we are excited about what’s to come next season.”