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Field hockey players reverse usual roles, win national championship by Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver Staff 35 | Thursday, October 9, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com As teammates on their Oakville Hornets girls' hockey squad, Emily Hong stopped the pucks and Elizabeth O'Hara scored the goals. But each always wanted to do what the other did. O'Hara always dreamed about donning the pads and thwarting opponents' scoring attempts. Meanwhile, Hong felt she "was always stuck as a goalie." O'Hara finally got her chance to play the position she always wanted to six years ago, but not on the ice. Looking for a sport to occupy her daughter's time in the summer, O'Hara's mom saw an ad in the paper for the Halton Field Hockey Club. "I went to try out and I ended up loving it," O'Hara said. "It's really different than ice hockey. There's more of a team aspect." Even better, she finally got the chance to be the last line of defence. And it turned out she was pretty good at it. Last year, O'Hara played a key role in helping Team Ontario Red end British Columbia's four-year hold on the national under-16 title. The St. Thomas Aquinas student posted a shutout in Ontario's 2-0 win in the gold-medal game and finished the tournament without allowing a single goal. Hong had to wait a little longer for her opportunity to get out from under the goalie equipment. That came two years ago when she started Grade 9 at Garth Webb high school and tried out for the Chargers' field hockey team. "I knew she was a goalie but she didn't show much interest in it," said Garth Webb coach Meaghan Coe. "I knew we had a phenomenal goalie (Charlotte Revell) and within a few practices, Emily showed she had a firm handle on how to play the game. But if we didn't have a goalie, I probably would have pushed her toward that a little more." Instead, the Chargers found a player to handle the important centre midfield position. No longer tied to the net, Hong enjoyed the opportunity to roam. "I liked being able to stickhandle and thinking about the game in a different way," she said. Coe suggested Hong should try out for the provincial team. Because she was still relatively new to the game, Hong wasn't sure if she would make it, but went to the tryouts anyway. Both O'Hara and Hong landed spots on the Ontario team that went undefeated and shut out British Columbia Blue 3-0 at the national under-16 championships this summer. Hong scored five times in the four games she played -- she sat out two round-robin Emily Hong (left) and Elizabeth O'Hara, pictured before a high school field hockey game last week between Hong's Garth Webb Chargers and O'Hara's St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders, joined forces to win national under-16 gold earlier this year. | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver --@Halton_Photog games with a hip flexor injury -- and O'Hara, splitting time with Ontario's other goalie, allowed four goals in 4 1/2 games. O'Hara said playing on a strong club team, she was used to facing quality shots in practice. Still, last year's experience at nationals proved to be valuable. "I was better prepared," she said. "I knew how tough the competition was going to be and how hard we needed to work to beat B.C." Hong said playing against tougher opponents definitely improved her game. "My development shot through the roof," she said. "Overall, I'm playing so much smarter and with more purpose instead of just running around." Both players, bronze medallists with the South region team at Ontario Summer Games, have bigger plans for the sport. Hong is now thinking about playing the game at university once she finishes high school. O'Hara, with two successful years on the provincial team, now has her sights set on playing for Canada. "I really want that opportunity," O'Hara said. "I definitely would love to play in the Olympics." On Now at The Brick! For more details go instore or online @thebrick.com. 2014 FALL HOCKEY & SKATING PROGRAMS Learn to Skate, Hockey Tips for Tots, Powerskating, High Performance, Elite Conditioning, Adult Powerskating & Ladies Hockey Skills. CLASSES ON NOW! www.icesports.com/oakville 905-845-6989