he Mark Isfeld Ice girls field hockey got their season off to a great start by winning their first ever tournament. The Ice travelled south this past Friday and Saturday to compete in the Friendship Cup Tournament hosted by Brentwood College School. The games were played at the John Ferreira Field at the Cowichan Sportsplex.
Isfeld was in a draw which included St. Michael’s University, Glenlyon Norfolk, Mt. Douglas and Brentwood College.
Isfeld’s first match on Friday was against SMU. SMU opened the scoring with a powerful penalty corner shot that struck just inside the right post. Isfeld goalie Maggie Bird had no chance on making the save.
Minutes later, Isfeld had a terrific offensive drive that started with Paula Wever in the back field. She carried the ball through most of the SMU team and dished it to Danielle Poirier on the right, who then crossed it in for Avery Snider. Snider stick handled by a defender and neatly placed the ball past the SMU goalie. The game remained tied until the last 30 seconds when Snider scored again to give Isfeld the win.
Next, Isfeld faced Glenlyon Norfolk from Victoria. Isfeld dominated this game 7-1. Danielle Vanbergen scored the hat trick while Snider finished with four.
On Saturday, Isfeld’s first contest was against Mt. Doug. The teams were evenly matched with many scoring chances by both teams. Isfeld opened the scoring but held the lead for only a short time before the Rams evened things up. In the opening minutes of the second half, Aleah Ashlee took a shot at the Rams' keeper and Kia van der Vliet tipped it into the back of the net.
Just when the game seemed to be going in the Ice’s favour, the Rams' centre forward made a great move to get open for a clear shot at goal and evened up the score once again. The action intensified and near the dying moments of the second half, Snider got hold of the ball at about the 75-yard line, dodged a couple of defenders and with the goalie coming out to pressure, Snider slid the ball past the diving keeper to clinch a 3-2 win for the Ice.
The final game for the Ice was against Brentwood College. The game started with both sides getting equal chances, however, once Isfeld scored their first goal, Brentwood seemed to struggle to get any offence going. Isfeld took over the game and finished with a convincing 5-0 win. Goals were scored by Ashlee (2), Snider (2) and Paula Wever. This victory clinched first place for the Ice.
The Isfeld girls were extremely happy winning their first ever tournament. Special honours go to Wever and Marisa von Fritschen, two German international students who play field hockey with their clubs in Berlin. “Having them play for us has really improved everyone. They are very skilled and experienced and give everyone more confidence,” says coach Moira Ashlee. I am very excited about our future competitions.”
– Isfeld Ice