The junior field hockey team travels to California every second year to compete in the Cal Cup. Almost all of our senior players who have brought Collingwood so many medals at the BC Championships have played in this tournament as juniors. Coach Shirkoff sends in this report from sunny California:
The Junior Cavs traveled to California for their biannual visit to the Cal Cup. After two days of practice and acclimatizing, the competition began in earnest. The first game saw them take on a very strong team from Northern California. Two forays into the Cavs D saw the opposition take a quick 2-0 lead. However, after this 2 minutes stretch to figure out the grass, the Cavs dominated the end of the first half, and the second half. Despite the strong effort, the Cavs were on the wrong end of a 3-1 score. It did stoke the competitive spirits as Junior Cavs dominated their second game by giving Stella a shut out, and three terrific, hard fought goals by Elsa, Seli, and Steph. The three captains (Gabi, Olivia M. and Devon) provided inspired leadership at key moments!!
Day 2 of the tournament saw the team continue their strong effort. The morning game was a defensive and offensive gem with another shut out for Stella and goals by Seli, Elsa, Lilah, and Steph. Steph scored in all three games and was an offensive talent to be reckoned with! It was a true team win -everyone came to play. The second game of the day was much tougher, ending a 0-0 tie. Our offensive chances were plentiful and we were unfortunate not to pot multiple goals on beautiful passes from the midfield. The team continues to adjust well to natural grass and the heat.
We play for 5/6 at 10AM tomorrow.
