40 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell Broker of Record 905-844-4444 BROKERAGE I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2007 Red Devils shut down by Irish in Halton field hockey final OT needed win yesterday in Hamilton to keep OFSAA hopes alive By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF BURLINGTON -- If the Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils want to add another medal to the trophy case, they'll have to hope their rivals have short memories. The Notre Dame Fightin' Irish won its sixth straight Halton high school senior girls' field hockey championship Monday, downing OT 2-0 in Burlington. Notre Dame turned in a dominating effort against the team it has met in the final for the last nine years. The Irish controlled the play, scored two more goals that were disallowed (both for shots outside the circle) and allowed OT few scoring chances. The Devils can only hope that performance will breed a little overconfidence in the Irish, because OT still had the opportunity to earn a rematch by beating Hamilton's St. Jean de Brebeuf in yesterday's Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference (GHAC) challenge game. Should the Devils have won that game (results were unavailable at press time), they would face Notre Dame again tomorrow, with the winner advancing to the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) championships in Mississauga. It's the exact scenario that saw the Devils advance to last year's provincial tournament, where they won a bronze medal. DEREK WOOLLAM / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER HALTON FINAL: Oakville Trafalgar's Elizabeth Philp (left) and Notre Dame's Katie Roganowicz chase down the ball during Monday's Halton high school senior girls' field hockey final in Burlington. Notre Dame blanked the Red Devils, 2-0. "I really felt we could have won. It just wasn't there for us today," said OT's Charlotte Horton. "The next game counts just as much, though, and we have a real chance for redemption." After a half-hour delay to the start of the game, due to the late arrival of the referees, the Irish wasted little time showing it had not forgotten about last year. Ally Evanyshyn scored just two minutes into the game to give Notre Dame the lead. Horton said the early goal didn't have to be the end for the Devils. "In my opinion, if they can score that fast, we can too," she said. "It can be a little disappointing, but it can also bring the momentum up; they sit back a little and we push a little more." Instead, it was Notre Dame that built off the goal. Six minutes later, Brittany Harrison was left alone at the side of the net. She made no mistake in converting a pass for a 2-0 lead. "I think it helped an awful lot," Notre Dame coach Mieke VanderKooy said of the early advantage. "Any nerves that were there were gone. I still had to remind them there was a lot of time left but, for OT, when you're playing a team that hasn't given up a goal all year, it might be a bit daunting." Oakville Trafalgar had been equally stingy until the last couple of weeks. It had been almost three years since the Devils had allowed a goal in league play to anyone but Notre Dame. However, St. Thomas Aquinas found the mark twice in a 2-2 tie to end OT's 7-0-2 regular season. The Devils then gave up three more in two playoff wins, a 2-1 victory over Holy Trinity and a 3-2 triumph over Assumption. Yesterday, OT's focus was earning another shot at the Irish. "We've got another game," Horton said. "We've got to come out really hard and we shouldn't let this get to us." But if OT is counting on Notre Dame having forgotten about what happened last year, the Red Devils might need another game plan. "We won today, but we're only halfway there," said Notre Dame captain Ellesha Fortuna. REP & SELECT OPEN TRY-OUTS OCTOBER 27 & 28 River Oaks Field Boys & Girls U11 (1997) - U18 (1990) Visit www.oakville-soccer.on.ca for complete details 2008 OUTDOOR SEASON SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE GREAT OFFERS & INCENTIVES UNTIL DECEMBER 2007 Check our website under Sponsors Link for full details or contact Joy at jneefs@oakville-soccer.on.ca Oakville Soccer Club www.oakville-soccer.on.ca The Oakville Beaver A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club Sponsored by: