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32 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2008 Red Devils edge out Nelson for Halton junior girls' field hockey title By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR In a game where both teams struggled to capitalize on their opportunities, Katie Taft was sure to make good on hers. The 15-year-old Oakville Trafalgar student hammered a shot past the Nelson Lords' goaltender early in the second half, the decisive play in the Red Devils' 1-0 victory in Thursday's Halton high school junior girls' field hockey final at OT. Taft, who converted a pass from teammate Sarah Hannay, said she was simply trying to get rid of the ball quickly. "I usually try and pick the far corner, but that was pretty flukey. I just hit it as hard as I could," said Taft, who threw her arms up and screamed when she heard the loud clunk of the ball hit"I just hit it as ting the back of the net. hard as I could. "That was really satisfying." That was really Taft plays rep soccer and satisfying." ice hockey, but had never tried field hockey before suit OT's Katie Taft, ing up for last year's Red talking about her Devils squad. winning goal "Katie has always had a knack for hitting the ball in, and being in the right place at the right time," said OT coach Kelly Grzesik, who is assisted by Laura Cameron. "She's a very good athlete. She just started last year, but has a lot of natural talent and picked up on (the sport) quickly." Nelson's best chance to tie the game came with 17 minutes to go in regulation time, but OT goalie Claire Newman denied the close-range shot with a kick save. "Both teams had excellent scoring opportunities. They capitalized and we couldn't," said Lords coach Jennifer Knight. "I would like to be able to play teams like (OT) more often. Games like this challenge the kids to step up." Nelson, the defending Halton junior champion, was 5-2 in league play this season but upset the 7-0-1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Tuesday's semifinal. OT (6-0-1) blanked the 5-1-2 Assumption Crusaders 1-0 in the other semi. Other members of the Red Devils' championship squad are Emily Farquharson, Holly Jasnich, Nicole Wood, Rory Bryce, Tess Sprawson, Brittany Shales, Claire Droniuk, Corrine Ouwehand, Danielle Black, Jessica Henry, Lucy Leon, Ellen Smith, Lori Israelian, Miranda Alksnis and Aline Saffran. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER DEVILISHLY PLEASED: A happy group of Oakville Trafalgar Red Devils celebrates after winning the Halton high school junior girls' field hockey championship Thursday, defeating Nelson 1-0 at OT. Local runners are OFSAA medal threats By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF DUNDAS -- They took vastly different approaches to their races, but the end result was the same. Dan Mathie and Colleen Hennessy are both Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference champions who will head to next week's provincial high school cross-country meet looking to earn a medal. Mathie sprinted to the front and never looked back Thursday at the Christie Conservation Area in Dundas. He built a 43second lead on the first lap around the course and extended that to more than two minutes by the finish. But to see the Abbey Dan Mathie Park Grade 10 student driving toward the finish line, you would have guessed he had an opponent right on his heels. "He wanted to push himself as best as he can with OFSAA coming up," said Abbey Park coach Greg Dailey. "There's no sense hanging back and going a little easier. He"s got to test his own boundaries, which he did." Mathie had already gone through the scoring area, gathered up a sweatshirt and pants before returning to the finish line to cheer on Braedon Russell, who finished second, two minutes and five seconds behind his teammate on the seven-kilometre course. "I was just trying to give my best effort and get my best time," Mathie said afterward. He did that easily, dropping 56 seconds off the 21-minute flat time he posted to finish second at the Meet of Champions in Sarnia, a pre-OFSAA meet that will be run on the same course as next Saturday's provincial championships. "I feel confident I can medal," said Mathie, who finished sixth as a midget at OFSAA last year. "I'm not that far out of the Colleen Hennessy mix." "The last three weeks in training have been very consistent and strong and that sets him up well for OFSAA," Dailey said. "He's definitely shown he should be up there." By comparison, St. Thomas Aquinas' Hennessy remained unbeaten with a relatively leisurely time of 18 minutes, 53 sec See Hennessy page 34