Golden Eagles Field Hockey Team Seeking Redemption This Week

Jeff Green | Oct 23, 2024

One year ago, the SHS Golden Eagles varsity field hockey team was 11 seconds away from qualifying for the Ontario Federation of Secondary School Athletic Association (OSFAA) finals by winning their semi-final game in the KASSAA (Kingston Area Secondary School Athletic Association) playoffs over Frontenac Secondary School.

But Frontenac scored with 10 seconds to go in the game, forcing overtime, which Frontenac went on to win.

Both of the teams who play in the KASSAA final also qualify for the OFSAA tournament. Holy Cross won the final over Frontenac last year, the third KASSAA title in a row for them.

The two long serving team field hockey coaches, Pauline Farmer and Aymee Myers, said that it has been 15 years since SHS has qualified for OFSAA, and “it would be nice for the team to get that opportunity this year, especially after coming so close last year.”

This season, SHS won their first 8 regular season games, including a 2-0 win over Frontenac, before losing to Holy Cross in their final regular season game, 3-0.

On Monday (October 21) the KASSAA playoffs began. In the quarterfinals, all of the top seeds won their games. Number 1 Holy Cross beat Loyalist, the 8th place team in the regular season, 5-0. The number 2 Sydenham Golden Eagles beat number 7 Bayridge by a score of 5-0. Number 3 Frontenac overcame Napanee 3-0, and number 4 Kingston, squeaked by Regiopolis 3-2.

That set up the semifinals, on Wednesday afternoon (October 23) Kingston plays Holy Cross at 2pm (CaraCo field at the Invista Centre) and at 4pm, it is Sydenham vs. Frontenac at the same location.

All KASSAA field hockey league and playoff games are played at CaraCo Field, which is an artificial turf multi-sport field.

That poses a challenge for the Golden Eagles team, who practice every day during the season, except for Fridays and game days, at Loughborough Public school, on relatively thick grass.

“It is difficult for the girls’ to adapt to the turf on game days, because it really is a different game altogether,” said Pauline Farmer, “but since we are a Varsity team, many of the girls are on the team for four years, even if they don’t start or play that many minutes until their 3rd and 4th years.”.

The profile of girl’s field hockey is not on par with that of the outdoor boys sport that is played in the fall, football, a point that both Farmer and Myers are very much aware of.

“They are a great group of girls,” Myers said, “and that’s what keeps us involved.”

And the chance of finally getting back to OFSAA is an added bonus.

(For the results of the semi-finals, which were played on Wednesday, look to Frontenacnews.ca where they are posted)