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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, November 16, 2012 · 32 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Dramatic CIS field hockey win for Appleby alumn Ben Follows would have had a hard time believing what he was seeing -- if he hadn't seen it the day before. Trailing Guelph 8-6 with a minute and a half to play in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association semifinals, things didn't look good for Follows and his McGill teammates. A goal with 1:20 left gave the Redmen hope of forcing overtime. Twenty seconds later, McGill tied the game, but there would be no extra session. With just four seconds remaining, the Redmen scored to complete an unlikely comeback and advance to the final. "It was unbelievable when we scored those three goals," Follows said. "It's so rare, especially in a national championship." Just 24 hours later, though, McGill found itself on the other side of the equation. Leading Western 6-4 with 30 seconds to play, the Redmen looked poised to hoist the Baggataway Cup. The Mustangs refused to surrender, though. They pulled within one with 25 seconds to play and then with just six seconds remaining, Oakville's Ben Neeb scored for Western to tie the game. "I was getting ready to storm the field," Follows said. "Then they scored and the entire bench was deflated. No one could believe it. As soon as they tied it, I thought they might do what we did to Guelph." Fortunately for Follows and McGill, there would be no repeat. The Redmen scored with 12 seconds left in the second overtime period, clinching the national championship with a 7-6 victory. Follows said it was a combination of academics and athletics that drew him to McGill. The Appleby College grad didn't expect a lot of playing time in his rookie season but was still hopeful he could contribute. From the first practices, he noticed a big difference in the university game. "It was much more skilled than I was used to," he said. "I felt like I was trying to catch up. I felt like I had to keep working to keep up. It inspired a whole new level of determination and motivation that I didn't know I had." McGill coach Tim Murdoch said it is rare for a first-year player to get significant playing time, but with the team having success early on -- McGill would finish the season with a 9-1 record -- it afforded Murdoch the opportunity to see his new recruits in action. Follows made a good impression, netting a hat trick against Concordia in McGill's third game of the season and finishing the season with seven goals in seven games. "He's a very crafty finisher. He has a real knack for putting the ball in the net," Murdoch said. "Ben played behind two very experienced players so that limited his time, but he did a lot with what he had." -- Herb Garbutt PHOTO COURTESY RUTGERS UNIVERSITY FANTASTIC FRESHMAN: Former Oakville Trafalgar student Alyssa Bull was recently named Big East Conference rookie of the year in women's field hockey, becoming the first-ever Rutgers Scarlet Knights player to receive the award. OT grad named Big East's top rookie By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF lyssa Bull has been honing her skills since she was four years old. Despite her many competing interests, she has always found time to dance. The style doesn't matter. Ballet, modern, tap, jazz, hip hop -- she's done them all. Throughout high school, Bull played on as many as three school teams each year but still found time for dance, as much as 14 hours each week. And when the 17-year-old returns to Rutgers University for her second semester, she will put all that she's learned to the test while auditioning for the dance faculty. If it goes as well as her first audition at Rutgers, Bull should be pirouetting for the next three years. As a rookie midfielder on the Rutgers field hockey team, Bull finished second on the squad with 17 points, including five goals and a teamleading seven assists. Her outstanding debut earned her the Big East Conference rookie-of-the-year award, making her the A first Scarlet Knights player to receive the award in the program's 38-year history. "She's very mature in the way she sees the game on the field," said Rutgers coach Meredith Long. "She's so clever and creative. Her style and decision making are above and beyond the typical first-year player." After Bull had taken the conference by storm, the timing of the award announcement was fitting. It came just as Hurricane Sandy was slamming into New Jersey. It took a while for Rutgers coaches to track down Bull, who had been evacuated from her dorm, just to give her the news. Then, with flights cancelled for several days, Bull was unable to fly to Louisville to attend the conference banquet. The U.S. coastline may not have known what it was in for, but the same could not be said of Bull when she arrived at Rutgers. Her sister, Jenna, played for the Scarlet Knights for four years -- earning team MVP honours in her final two seasons. Alyssa went to Rutgers three times a year to visit and watch her sister's games. While there, she got to know many of the players and the coaches. "You never really know when you're being recruited," Bull said. "Coaches will say whatever you want to hear to get you to go there. With Rutgers, I already knew the school, the coaches and some of the players. It made my life a lot easier. Moving away and not knowing anyone can be overwhelming for a freshman." Bull, who was also named to the AllBig East second team, certainly had the credentials that would attract the attention of multiple schools. The honours student was a three-time field hockey MVP at Oakville Trafalgar, captaining the Red Devils to an OFSAA bronze medal in her final year. She also won medals at three straight national championships with Ontario, capped by an under-18 gold in 2011. That was also the year she made her debut with the Canadian junior national team. Bull is now among 63 athletes named to Canada's Target 2017 Squad, a group See Freshman's, page 33