U23 Men’s competition concludes with BC gold, Ontario Red silver, Ontario White bronze, and many lessons learned
After a night of practices and two matches that acted as a warmup for some, day two of the U23 competition started in an exhilarating fashion as Ontario Red tied BC, a team that was hoping to win the tournament after silver and bronze finishes in U15 and U18 respectively, 3-3.
On the other side, Ontario White’s 5-2 win over USA was a special one for Captain Rohan Chopra, who’s participating in his 8th Nationals and had scored two goals in the win.
“We stuck to very basic hockey,” he said. “A lot of us haven’t played together so much so we really tried to focus on moving the ball, getting a lot of touches, interchanging positions, and really connecting with one another. Our next game is going to be very important, so I think we did a really good job in this game to get used to the tournament a bit more.”
These matches were important to position themselves strategically for the semi-finals the next day. It was a showdown between the Ontarios, Red and White, and Ontario Red would take the lead in the 21st minute and hold onto it for the 1-0 result. On the other field, BC secured a definite 9-0 victory against USA, including hat-tricks from both Kyle Bishop and Tarjan Sandhu.
As pool play wrapped up, the semi-final matches were set up: it would be Ontario Red vs Ontario White, and BC vs USA — a rematch for all four sides.
The last day of the tournament came quickly and intensely, and the Toronto downpour was reflective of the consequential day ahead. All four teams would take the pitch early in the morning for a fight for a position in the goal medal match, but it was also a chance for redemption and to learn from yesterday’s faults and successes.
First up: round two of the battle of the Ontarios. Despite a close match the day before and Ontario White’s 7th-minute goal to lead the game, Ontario Red was able to notch four goals in for the 4-1 victory. BC and USA, however, had a similar match and saw BC win by eight goals to nil, meaning that it would be a BC vs Ontario Red final, and Ontario White vs USA bronze medal game.
Bishop, who was tied as BC’s second leading goalscorer of the tournament, stated that it was great to play some new faces, yet still get great results leading up to the finals. “We were just moving the ball around the field and had a few good baseline entries. Overall, we had a great time in that last game. We’re just going to get some rest, eat well, and prepare ourselves [for tonight].”
With only four hours of rest before overall standings were determined, teams made their way down to the field for the highly-anticipated medal matches and tournament finale. With the Men’s gold medal on one side and the bronze medal on the other, spectators had much to be excited about.
BC took the lead early on with a goal in the 4th minute to kick off the gold medal match, which was quickly followed by a Fin Boothroyd hat-trick in the 11th, 18th, and 37th minutes to secure the first place finish.
BC Captain Satbir Brar attributed the win to the team’s good mindset heading into the game and was pleased with the result, having tied Ontario Red initially.
“It feels quite rewarding because we definitely played hard and focused on our game plan,” Brar said. “When you realize everything you have and make it come together, it feels good to win something you worked hard for. The atmosphere at Nationals is just great.”
Alternatively, after a high-strung first quarter that saw USA take the lead 1-0 from a penalty corner, Ontario White quickly countered with a 25th-minute goal to tie the game. It was a series of back-and-forth attacks with good chances from both sides. However, late in the fourth quarter as a penalty shootout began to rise above the horizon, Ontario White’s Divyanshu Saini scored the game-winning goal to take third place.
The loss, however, did not dampen USA’s spirits, but instead fuelled it and made the team excited to come back in the future, should the opportunity arise. Colin Hennessy, a centre-forward on the American side, said that Nationals has been a learning process for USA given that many of the players have played back-to-back tournaments after the U18s.
“We’ve constantly been improving and talking about professionalism and keeping that momentum going,” Hennessy said. “Especially for the guys in the US, we don’t get to play a lot of hockey. Getting this chance to come out and play Canadians — we’re working hard every single moment and taking it all in.”
The sun sets on another Field Hockey Canada National Championships. The amazing competition took place over two weeks with 700 athletes, coaches and officials. For photo galleries, tournament recaps and more information on this year’s championships, please visit the event page.
So long from Toronto.
