The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, July 10, 2013 | 20 Time away from golf made Shepley realize she missed it continued from p.19 As the pressure should have been mounting down the stretch, Shepley looked as likely to pull a butterfly net out of her bag as a seven-iron. After sticking her approach shot within four feet on 14, Shepley scooped up the little sister of fellow player Brogan McKinnon and carried her along the path. She then made a slick downhill putt to extend her lead to three. At times, as her playing partners were taking their shots, Shepley stood off the fairway, staring into the forest. "The course was so pretty. I wanted to enjoy what I was doing," she said. "I just want to appreciate everything because you never know how long things are going to continue." · · · Seven months ago, Shepley thought she had the answer to that question. It was over. "She was working hard ­ one thing you can always count on with Jessica is that she's going to work hard -- but she wasn't getting the results," said her dad, Bret Shepley. "Frustration took over." stomach," she said. Shepley went to Florida to spend some time by herself. Apart from a couple of trips to an indoor driving range, she didn't golf ­ just took some time to re-evaluate her decision, eventually coming to the conclusion she had more to accomplish. · · · Since her return, Shepley has played in four LPGA events, including the U.S. Open, making the cut twice. Three weeks ago at a CN Canadian Women's Tour event in Windsor, she shot a final round 66 before being edged for the title on the third playoff hole. "I'm trying to get a better perspective, trying to use better measuring sticks," she said. "I'm trying to play the course, not Alena or Lisa (Ferrero). They're going to do what they're going to do. I'm trying to play my own game." It worked to perfection last week. Wednesday, Shepley birdied four of the first six holes to take an early lead she never relinquished. She took a two-shot lead into the final round and would maintain that advantage the entire day. Her birdie on 14 gave her a three-shot advantage and then after choosing to lay up on the driveable par-4 16th, she sank a 15-foot birdie putt to extend her lead to four. Lipping out a par putt on 17 cut Shepley's lead to three but when she safely hit the green on the par-3 18th, she sealed her fifth career professional victory. The triumph confirmed she made the right decision in coming back, and while it obviously meant a lot to her, it was clear that it was also a welcome sight to her supporters and peers. "She plays too well to quit," said Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Marlene Streit. "It's a great comeback, a great win. Jessica kept it all together. I'm very proud of her." "She's got a lot of talent and so much time to play," Sharp said. "I'm glad she made the decision to come back." "Maybe it was a bit premature," Shepley said, "but I was in such a bad place, I just wanted to put an end to it." Much has changed since then. Shepley has a new outlook, a new coach, a new boyfriend, a new caddy, a new family member and a new lease on her golf life. "I'm in a great place in my life," she said. "Great people, great friends, a baby niece. I'm having fun." Foster Cuomo of the Oakville Buzz (right) considers his options against the Mimico Mountaineers defence Friday at Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. Oakville won the junior B lacrosse playoff opener, 1310, but lost 12-9 Sunday in Mimico and needed a victory last night (Tuesday) to advance to the second round. | photo by Eric Riehl -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog Buzz, Mimico go the distance in opening round After exchanging three-goal victories in the first two games of their Ontario Lacrosse Association junior B playoff series, the Oakville Buzz and Mimico Mountaineers needed a third and deciding game last night (Tuesday, after the Beaver's deadline) at Oakville's Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. The Buzz defeated Mimico 13-10 Friday in the series opener at TRAC, scoring five consecutive goals in the second period to erase an early 5-4 deficit. The Mountaineers evened the series with a 12-9 win Sunday in Mimico, nursing a one-goal lead into the final minute before putting the game away with a pair of empty-netters. Greg Campbell had four goals in Game 1 for the Buzz. Keyan McQueen had a team-high five points (two goals, three assists) and Eddie Renaud (two goals, two assists) and Todd Nakasuji (four assists) added four-point evenings. Pat Shea had two goals and a helper, Mitch Wales scored and had two assists, and Sam Neeb and Patrick Dehueck each notched a goal and an assist in support of winning netminder D.J. Eckert. Sunday, Oakville's hot sticks were held by Wales (three goals) and Troy O'Donnell (two goals, two assists). Nakasuji had a goal and three assists, Campbell and Shea each contributed a goal and an assist, and Foster Cuomo collected the Buzz's other marker. The winner of the Oakville/Mimico series will face the East's top seed Clarington Green Gaels, who defeated Markham 2-0 in the opening round. Secondranked Halton Hills will draw the third-seeded Akwesasne Indians in the other second-round series. No playoffs for senior B Titans The Oakville Titans concluded their Ontario Lacrosse Association senior B season Sunday with a 10-8 victory over the Brooklin Merchants at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. Oakville began and ended the campaign with victories, but lost 12 of 14 games in between to finish with a 4-12 mark and become the lone squad in the seventeam loop to miss the playoffs. Ken Coulson (hat trick), Simon Desousa (two goals, two assists) and Mike Gillan (two goals, one assist) were the Titans' top offensive performers in Sunday's win. Connor Latimer, Matt Pelkey and Mack Abbott also tallied in support of victorious netminder Mike Cregan. Sports Briefs The Titans were eliminated from playoff contention two nights earlier, falling 14-10 at home to the Six Nations Rivermen. Mack Abbott and Gillan both had hat tricks in a losing cause, with Abbott adding two assists for a five-point evening. Latimer also had five points (two goals, three helpers), Jeff Sehl had a goal and two assists, and Anthony Caputo scored once. Craig Wende took the loss in net. The St. Catharines Saints and Rivermen will each enjoy byes in the opening round of the playoffs. Third-place Norwood James Gang will take on the Sarnia Beavers and fourth-place Brooklin will draw the Owen Sound North Stars in Round 1. Senior A Rock's rally falls short in Peterborough Despite outscoring the host Peterborough Lakers 7-1 in the third period, the Oakville Rock dropped to 2-9-1 in Major Series Lacrosse senior A play with a 13-11 loss Thursday. The Lakers scored the first five goals of the contest and led 12-4 through two periods before Oakville's furious third-period rally fell just short. A.J. Masson had a hat trick and added an assist in a losing cause for Oakville, which also got two goals and three assists from Stephan Leblanc. Gatlin Burt, Kyle Davis and Connor Daly also scored twice each for the Rock. Oakville was scheduled to host the Brooklin Redmen Monday, but the game was postponed due to the heavy rain in the Greater Toronto Area. The Rock will visit the Brampton Excelsiors tomorrow (Thursday). Longhorns drop to 0-5 in NFC action Chris Hibbert's 16-yard touchdown run was the only scoring the Oakville Longhorns could muster in a 43-7 loss to the Toronto Raiders Saturday at Bronte Athletic Field. The Longhorns were limited to 66 passing yards as they fell to 0-5 in Northern Football Conference play. Lindell Merraro pulled in 60 of those yards on four receptions, while Richard Lewis added 67 yards on the ground. Sam Rotolo and Liston Bates led the Longhorns' defence with 3.5 tackles each. The Longhorns visit the Sudbury Spartans this Saturday. (Jessica Shepley) plays too well to quit. It's a great comeback. Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Marlene Streit After missing the cut in the LPGA's Kingsmill Championship in September, she packed up her belongings, moved home and pondered her future. She eventually came to the conclusion that it was time to move on. "I was shocked when she said she wasn't going to play," said Sharp. "(She) and I are good friends. We've been playing together since we were juniors." Though she had made the decision months before making it public, Shepley said reading stories about her retirement and her career got her thinking, wondering if there weren't more stories to be written. "I had this awful feeling in my