Canada beats Trinidad and Tobago, will play Belarus in Gryphon Hockey World League 2 quarterfinal
PHOTO: Brienne Stairs and her Canadian teammates celebrate a goal in their 12-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on April 4, 2017 at the Gryphon Hockey World League Round 2 in West Vancouver, BC (By Yan Huckendubler)
Canada’s women’s field hockey team finished pool play of the 2017 Gryphon Hockey World League 2 with a big 12-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago Tuesday in West Vancouver.
The win sets up a match-up with Belarus in Thursday’s quarterfinal (4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET).
The other quarterfinal match will feature Uruguay and Mexico (2:15pm PT/5:15pm ET). Follow Field Hockey Canada on Twitter for live updates of Canada’s match, and the Pan American Hockey Federation for all other matches.
North Vancouver native Rachel Donohoe – who recently re-joined the Women’s National Program – scored three goals in front of her home crowd, as Canada easily handled the lower ranked Trinidadians in the final pool match in West Vancouver.
“It’s good, it’s exciting,” says Donohoe, who plays hey club hockey with the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club, which is based out of Rutledge Field, where World League 2 is being played. “But I have to give credit to my teammates, most of my goals were tap-ins so they made it easy for me.”
“We were unlucky to lose to Chile (last game) but I think coming out today, we came out firing and stuck to our plan.”
Canada’s other goals were scored by Alison Lee (4′), Alex Thicke (6′), Stephanie Norlander (10′), Jordyn Faiczak (26′, 29′), Nikki Woodcroft (38′), Brienne Stairs (44′, 45′), and Danielle Hennig (53′).
Despite the lopsided scoreline, the Canadians were intent on playing the match against lower-ranked and winless Trinidad and Tobago with the same purpose as their other matches.
It’s a philosophy that has been consistent since Head Coach Ian Rutledge took over the Women’s National Program in 2013.
“We just stick to our game plan,” says veteran defender Shanlee Johnston. “We know our process and we know that it works against some of the best teams in the world and we just have to stick to our guns and go for it.”
In its quarterfinal opponent, the 20th ranked Belarusians, Canada faces a relatively unknown opponent and one that is ranked only two spots below.
But the Canadians are less focused on who they play as they are with how they play in the Thursday’s quarterfinal.
“There’s three good teams in the other pool and we’re happy to play any of them and excited to get into any competitive match leading into the rest of the tournament,” adds Johnston.
“We’re going to take the win as a really positive thing going into quarterfinals, but we’re going to be prepare for that game the same way as we prepare for all the other games.”
The winner of Canada’s quarterfinal matchup with Belarus will go on to face India in the tournament semifinal. The other semifinal will feature the winner of Uruguay-Mexico and Chile.
