By Nepean Knights Lacrosse
The tyke aged Nepean Knights are provincial champions for the first time in the association’s history, having won the “B” level crown at provincials in Durham Region. Nepean has won provincial titles before, but never at the tyke level. Tyke players are 7 and 8 years old.
The young Knights won the Ontario championship by winning three straight pool stage games and then three more elimination games. In the pool stage, Nepean won 10-3 over Uxbridge, 20-3 over Windsor and then 12-2 over Owen Sound. In the quarter-finals, Nepean won 9-4 over Sarnia, setting up a semi-final game against the Burlington Chiefs, the team that knocked Nepean out of the provincials in 2011. The Knights responded with tough team defence and great passing and shooting to win 8-4 over Burlington. Next up was a final game versus the Mississauga Tomahawks. Nepean – who only lost 4 games all year – lost twice to Mississauga at the Gloucester tournament in early July. This helped motivate Nepean, as they won a tight final game 6-3 to claim the provincial championship banner.
Up front, Liam Aston (14 goals and 8 assists for 22 points), Willem Firth (8 goals and 13 assists for 21 points), and Charlie Gollob (10 goals and 8 assists for 18 points) provided the offensive power for the Knights. Nepean had a super team effort from every player, with strong goaltending by Thomas Kiazyk to back the team’s wins.
“We played very tough team defence. Every player checked hard and kept our opponents from getting good looks at the net. We battled for loose balls, passed well, shot to score and ran like mad. The players did all the little things right and showed great heart and determination to get the job done,” said head coach Matt Firth. He added: “The players’ families provided great support. It was a team win through and through.”
The provincial championship was the highlight of a very successful season for the tyke Nepean Knights. The team compiled a 29 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie record while winning three tournaments before capping off a great season with a provincial-level victory.
The tyke championships are part of the annual lacrosse festival run by the Ontario Lacrosse Association and the Canadian Lacrosse Association. It is one of the largest amateur sporting events in the country. The festival runs championships from tyke through to intermediate (age 17-19), as well as girls’ box and field lacrosse championships, and boys’ national championships at peewee (11-12), bantam (13-14) and midget (15-16) for provincial and Iroquois Nationals teams. In total, the event drew 557 teams and 11,028 players in 2012 over ten days.
