Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2006 43 Ridge grad named CIS field hockey's top rookie Effie Petrou helps York to national tournament By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY: St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders receiver Tom Mann (7) tries to go up and over a pair of Christ the King Jaguars defenders. Christ the King defeated the Raiders 20-6 in Wednesday's Halton high school senior Division 2 semifinal at Aquinas. Sr. Raiders eliminated in Halton semi The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders were hoping to be the third local team this season to advance to a Halton high school football championship game, but were denied by the Christ the King Jaguars in Wednesday's senior Division 2 semifinal. Kyle Enright scored a first-half touchdown for the Raiders, giving Aquinas a 7-6 advantage at halftime, but Christ the King rallied in the second half for a pair of touchdowns and a 20-6 victory. The Jaguars will face the Georgetown Rebels in the Halton senior Division 2 final next week at Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium. Despite the loss, Raiders coach Gino DiMarcello was pleased with what he saw from his team this season. "The boys came together extremely well," he said. "They had an excellent year." The lone Oakville squads to reach Halton finals this season are the Abbey Park and Aquinas juniors, who will clash for the regional Division 2 title Wednesday at Ivor Wynne. After leaving a lasting impression on her high school team, Effie Petrou made an outstanding first impression at university. Petrou was presented with the Joyce Slipp Award as the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) field hockey rookie of the year prior to last weekend's national field hockey championships in Vancouver. A week earlier, she received similar honours from Ontario University Athletics (OUA). "I was shocked," Petrou said of winning the CIS award. "My goal this year was to go to CIS." Petrou and her York Lions teammates fulfilled that by reaching the Ontario final, where they were edged 10 by the University of Toronto Blues (see story, page 44). The 18-year-old kinesiology and health sciences major played a major role in York's 10-2-2 season. She scored two goals, but it was her defensive play that built her reputation as one of the top players in the league. Petrou was named to the OUA first all-star team and was a second team allCanadian. "Effie always brings a smile to York practices and games along with her great team work and speed," said Lions head coach Deb Fullerton. "She also contributes her time developing young players as a volunteer coach with her club team here in Toronto." That's a role Petrou played at Iroquois Ridge last season. A veteran player on an inexperienced team, Trailblazers' coach Marie Guest said what Petrou taught her teammates last season helped them continue their development this year. "She's a kid that really cares about her team and never puts herself before anyone else," Guest said. "That's a great attribute for anyone who's an exceptional athlete." Guest said in addition to being a great on-field leader, Petrou has great speed, natural instincts and "awareness you can't teach in terms of reacting to the play." It was that natural ability that earned her a place on the Ontario Effie Petrou under-18 team that won the gold medal at the national championships. While the university title may have eluded York, Petrou said she and her Lions teammates knew they were in tough at the CIS tournament. "We knew going in it was going to be hard competition but we really wanted to beat U of T," Petrou said. Though the Lions finished with an 03-1 mark, they nearly exacted a bit of revenge against the Blues. Looking for a bit of payback for the OUA final, York took a 1-0 lead but U of T scored with less than five minutes to play to earn a 1-1 draw. That will be the goal next year -- dethroning U of T, the team the high school honour student nearly chose to attend before deciding on York. And Petrou usually accomplishes whatever she sets her mind to. "She has a great work ethic and the others pick up on that," her former coach said. "She's confident but not overly so. She's got an air of confidence without the cockiness. She sets goals and then works to achieve them."