It’s a big week for a sport with a rich history in this city.
The McMath Wildcats are welcoming 15 of the top teams in the province for the B.C. “AAA” Field Hockey Championships. Games will be hosted at Minoru Park, Richmond High and King George Park. Round-robin action starts Wednesday morning and the top eight teams advance to Thursday afternoon’s quarter-finals. The gold medal game will take place Friday (3 p.m.) at King George.
The Handsworth Royals are the tournament’s top seed as North Shore schools have dominated in recent years. They are joined by No. 4 seed West Van and No. 8 Argyle.
At one-time, there were enough schools involved for Richmond to have its own senior girls field hockey league. While a shift in the city’s demographics led to most programs folding, the Wildcats continued on — joining the Vancouver League for regular season games.
McMath has more than held its own — benefitting from talent being produced by the Richmond Field Hockey Club and now a dedicated parent coach, currently in his fourth-year guiding the team.
“It’s been quite the juggling act, especially the past year with my job and working some long days, but I made the commitment to do this for five years,” said TJ Sander. “We are fortunate we get to play half our league games at Minoru and the rest are at (Eric) Hamber.”
Sander is hopeful the Wildcats will soon have local competition again. There is talk of a team returning to McRoberts — a school that was a powerhouse for over a decade and won a pair of provincial championships. There is also interest at McNair and Boyd.
In the meantime, this week’s championships enhances the sport’s profile further. Sander was quick to praise the organizational work of Tania Webster for making the event possible.
After losing some key players to graduation, the Wildcats still managed to repeat as Vancouver and District champions with a 1-0 victory over Churchill last week. It was an impressive feat given the team has just three Grade 12s on its roster and it was a challenge on a weekly basis putting the minimum number of players on the field.
Even a couple of Grade 8s had a heavy workload — none more so than goalkeeper Abby Pogor who was outstanding in the zone final, especially in the opening half when Churchill carried much of the play.
The Wildcats are led by team captain Dakota Chan and assistant Aish Sander. Both are provincial team players and the majority of McMath’s scoring chances come through them.
The backline is anchored by Grade 11 standout Samantha Trueman who is joined by Emma Fedoruk.
Grade 9 Hope Chan provides strong two-way play, as does Sarah Godfrey. Lara Schmidt is one of the team’s top scorers, while Ellie Wan, Veronica Surette and Grade 8 Isabella Schaefer have also contributed to the attack.
Kate Schmidt has provided valuable versatility and Grade 10 Sabrina Fata always brings a high work ethic. Injured senior Maddie DiGiorgio will be a welcome addition for the provincials.
Short Corners…
Ironically the provincials are taking place the same week longtime Richmond Field Hockey builder and contributor Nancy Carey will join her husband Lance (2015) on the Richmond Sports Wall of Fame. She is one of nine included in the 2017 class.
Provincial Championships pool groups and seedings are:
Group A
Handsworth (1), Oak Bay (6), Heritage Woods (11), Sullivan Heights (16).
Group B
Cowichan (2), South Delta (5), Charles Best (12), Eric Hamber (15).
Group C
Kelowna (3), Argyle (8), McMath (9), Centennial (14).
Group D
West Van (4), Mt. Doug (7), Churchill (10), Magee (13).
