Today saw the opening matches of the 2013 Senior National Championships from the brand new water-based turf in Brampton, ON.
The opening of the 2013 Field Hockey Canada Senior National Championships began with the home teams facing off on the new water-based turf in Brampton. This marks the first field hockey national championship hosted at the Cassie Campbell Sportsplex.
Both teams took some time to get comfortable on the pitch and despite breakaways on both sides, the game remained scoreless until the 32nd minute. Tegan Stairs notched the first goal off a rebound to put the juniors up 1-0, while an own goal only a minute later gave the team a 2-0 lead. That cushion lasted until the 35th minute when University of Toronto standout Kaelan Watson scored on a penalty corner. The straight strike ricocheted into the goal to cut the juniors’ lead to one, at 2-1 entering half time.
Following the break, the experience of current national team members Kate Gillis and Angela Lancaster sparked some offensive runs, testing the Ontario junior backfield. The senior side earned two more second-half goals on penalty corners from Kaelan Watson, while Katelynn Roganowicz was able to add two free play goals. The Ontario seniors provided an offensive explosion in the second half, showing their experience — scoring five unanswered goals to win their first match 5-2.
Goal Scorers
ONT Sr: Kaelan Watson (3), Katelynn Roganowicz (2)
ONT U21: Tegan Stairs, Adrienne Houle
The Canadian Junior National Team provided an outstanding showing for their opening match of the Senior Nationals campaign, capitalizing over Guyana by an impressive 11-0 score line. The Canadians took 16 minutes to settle in before Sarah Keglowitsch put in a a loose ball to give them a 1-0 lead. It didn’t stop there as the Canadian side went on to earn four penalty corner goals and seven field goals.
Syndey Veljacic’s reverse stick shot from the top of the circle in the 55th minute along with Priya Randhawa’s break away finish were two highlight goals of the game. Caashia Karrington and Karli Johanssen were also very successful on drag flicks, netting two and one penalty corner goals, respectively.
Four Canadians netted two goals a piece, while three additional goal scorers added to the final 11-0 score. The Guyana team struggled to handle the Canadian offensive pressure, while unforced errors, and adjusting to the pitch seemed to be the biggest hinderance.
Goal Scorers
CAN U21: Sarah Keglowitsch (2), Karli Johansen (2), Sydney Veljacic (2), Jess Buttinger (2), Priya Randhawa (1), Holly Stewart (1), Caashia Karrington (1)
The BC senior squad asserted themselves in day one, grabbing three points from Alberta in an 8-0 victory, which was the only game of the day for both teams. The BC squad boasts 13 of 15 players with international experience – several of whom will be heading to Europe for a tour with the Canadian National Team immediately after the tournament.
Forward Stephanie Gardiner got the blue team on the board in the 10th minute despite several early attempts that were spoiled by Alberta veteran keeper Burgundy Biletski. Gardiner notched her second in a free play attempt only two minutes later, while Poonam Sandhu and Hannah Haughn also tallied to make it 5-0 entering the break.
Alberta were anchored by the speed of Amanda Kurianowicz and Brittany Seidler up front, as well as the distribution skills of national team member Marian Dickinson. Biletski continued to stymie several BC attempts but Sandhu and Gardiner were each able to find their third goals of the game, while Crystal Poland notched the final goal to give BC the 8-0 final score.
Goal Scorers
BC: Poonam Sandhu (3), Stephanie Gardner (3), Hannah Haughn (1), Crystal Poland (1)
The juniors sides for both Canada and Ontario faced off for each team’s second game of the day. Canada was on the board in the third minute of play when Holly Stewart capitalized on a loose ball in front of Ontario’s Emily Corbett. Canada maintained a lot possession but unforced errors in their outletting kept them off the board for nearly 23 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Ontario U23 side was able to battle their way into the circle to earn a short corner, on which Adrienne Houle tipped in a low shot from Alison Lee. Houle’s goal gave the Ontario side a tying goal and resulting burst of energy, while Canada looked to regroup. At the 26 minute mark, Vancouver Island’s Sarah Keglowitsch gave Canada the go-ahead goal when she received the ball in tight and in the same motion turned and fired the ball past Corbett. Canada led 2-1 at the half and continued much of their attack and possession in the second half.
Canada’s best attempt to extend their lead to three came on a rush by Priya Randhawa down the left side. The speedy forward beat the last defender and was able to slip a reverse stick pass under a sliding Corbett and across the open goal mouth. Keglowitsch was there but her one-timer hit the post and stayed out of the net.
At the other end of the pitch, a series of rushes boosted by the speed of Tegan Stairs and Houle led to a few penalty corner attempts for Ontario. The tying goal, however, came in free play when Canada’s Rachel Donohoe attempted to break down a rushing play of attack. The ball managed to ricochet forward and slip past Bea Francisco’s pads to tie the game at 2-2.
Goal Scorers
CAN U21: Holly Stewart (1), Sarah Keglowitsch (1)
ONT U23: Adrienne Houle (1), Tegan Stairs (1)
Play resumes tomorrow morning at 8:30am EST with BC Blue taking on Guyana – you can find the full schedule here. Follow us on Twitter @FieldHockeyCan for the latest updates!