Nepean field hockey girls share triumphant moments in banner season

The Nepean Knights field hockey girls earned an all-time best result for their school at the OFSAA field hockey championships in Markham Nov. 3-5, placing fifth overall and collecting a ton of memories on the way.

 
“Prior to the season I expected that we would have a strong team, but with the majority of the players in Grade 10, I assumed we were a year away from seriously challenging for the (national capital) title,” says coach Jim Whiteside, whose team ended the reign of perennial powerhouses from Merivale, John McCrae and Ashbury en route to the city title.

Whiteside credits the coaching help of Brian Lee for much of the squad’s success, plus the addition of several players who carried a bunch of previous field hockey experience, including club player Madison Mackey of Toronto, and German exchange student Lara Bucholski, who owns such a powerful shot that it takes just one look to realize she’s a cut above.

“I was actually surprised,” says Bucholski, who began playing the sport 3-4 times a week 11 years ago in Germany. “Many told me field hockey was bad and not very competitive (in Canada), but I came here and we had a great team.”

The game may have turned out to be similar, but the Grade 10 student still has trouble remembering the name of the game in her visiting nation.

“I always have to correct myself, ‘Yes, I’m going to field hockey practice,’” Bucholski smiles. “I think it’s stupid, but that’s just my opinion – all over the world, hockey is field hockey and ice hockey is ice hockey.”

Regardless of what she calls it, Bucholski will go home after this semester with one unforgettable moment in her mind – scoring the deciding goal that sent her team to the provincial championships. It was the national capital semi-final against Merivale, the score was deadlocked 1-1 late in the overtime period and Bucholski converted a corner opportunity into the winner.

“Oh my gosh. It was just amazing. I have no words for it,” recalls Bucholski, who has also enjoyed the amazing spirit at Nepean. “It was like, ‘You have this big shot, it’s your decision and if you fail, the whole team fails, but you have a chance to finish it.’ It was incredible.”

Believe it or not, the tension of that moment was even worse for Tanya Motsi, a Knights co-captain along with Kelly Walsh, who was the hero in the city final against Ashbury, again scoring an overtime winning goal to down the Colts 3-2.

“It was my senior year and I was like, ‘If we don’t win this, I’m going to cry for an entire week’ – and I’m not the kind of person who cries,” Motsi laughs. “But we cried for a good minute after Kelly scored anyways.”

The title was especially treasured for Motsi after she came very close to winning a city title in her Grade 9 year, and then helped build the team – whose strength is the Grade 10 players that continue to play together in the wintertime, she highlights – into champions.

“We had such a great team this year,” adds Motsi, who began playing field hockey in her native South Africa before moving to Ottawa at age 11. “We all have fun and have laughs together.”

For Sadie Moore, making it to OFSAA was all about getting the last laugh. Earlier in the same day as her field hockey provincials qualifier, the cross-country runner finished ninth at the city championships and missed out on earning an OFSAA berth in that sport by a single place.

“Everyone was convinced that I’d have a spot, but it ended up that only two girls in front of me were part of a team, so I was the first person who didn’t make it,” recounts Moore, who then was dealt the task of refocusing for her next big event just a few hours later after such a tough disappointment. “I really wanted to make it for field hockey, so I kind of just put it out of my mind.”

Moore, who wound up scoring a late goal in the city final to send the game to overtime, had a major change of emotions as her team prevailed over Merivale.

“I was really upset, but then we won our semi-finals over Merivale in overtime, and it made up for it,” Moore smiles. “When I heard the ball hit the back of the net – I don’t even know. I so excited. Everyone jumped up and ran onto the field.”

Nepean went on to win its three group matches over schools from Kingston, Newmarket and Caledon at OFSAA before falling 2-1 to Pickering in the quarter-finals, while Ashbury went 0-3. The national capital title was the first in the history of the Knights field hockey program.