By Dan Plouffe, published Oct. 25 in EMC/Nepean-Barrhaven
With a perfect 6-0 start, the John McCrae Bulldogs have earned the favourite tag for this year’s national capital high school field hockey championship, despite missing OFSAA last season.
The upset defeat to Nepean in the 2011 semi-finals interrupted an impressive run of consecutive OFSAA appearances for the team that is now hungry to return to the big show and pick up on its provincial bronze medal victory two seasons ago.
“We’re happy that it’s in Ottawa, and we’re hoping to go this year,” notes Grade 12 Bulldog Karli Ryan, who doubles as a provincial ringette player along with her twin sister. “We want to get first or second. After getting bronze, we want to try to go farther.”
Coach Sandeep Chopra loves the look of his team that owns loads of experience beyond the high school level, including youth national championships competitors Halley Chopra and Caroline Rozon.
“Right now I have an embarrassment of riches. I’ve inherited 11 Grade 12s and I have likely the two best players in the city,” says Chopra, who’s also got several talented soccer players in his lineup. “The average level of athletic ability in those Grade 12s is through the roof.”
An experienced coach with his Nepean Nighthawks club, Chopra was “pressed into service” when his Grade 12 daughter came home “with tears shooting out” horizontally the day they’d been told there would be no team horizontally, he describes.
“I said, ‘I’m going to have to do something about this,’” he smiles.
Chopra’s enthusiasm for his team and the field hockey club he’s helped build is contagious. It’s his attention to detail and love for the game that’s helped keep the sport alive and thriving in Ottawa.
“It’s a huge advantage,” agrees Ryan. “He’s a really good coach.”
Several other coaches from local high schools have also stepped up to the plate, or have recruited parents and alumni to ensure teams could field a squad this year. Without teachers to step in to provide mandatory supervision, many teams would have been unable to compete.
Tougher field
This year’s quest for a field hockey OFSAA berth will be tougher than ever with several schools in the mix for the top two spots to go to provincials. Aside from defending champion Nepean and always strong Ashbury, Merivale, Longfields-Davidson Heights, Glebe and Sir Robert Borden are all expected to be in the thick of the battle.
“There are a lot of good teams. It’s going to be very hard,” emphasizes Grade 11 McCrae student Natalie Dunn.
Nepean has suffered more personnel losses than most, with six players gone from its OFSAA quarter-finalist squad, but still figures to be strong, while Ashbury has numerous international students with plenty of field hockey experience in its lineup.
Merivale was one of the last teams to hold out hope for the season, while Longfields-Davidson Heights and Glebe are young programs on the rise.
“It’s great to see these other programs getting going and getting better,” highlights Chopra, whose Bulldogs have been fortunate to receive players with club experience for the past several years. “It makes for a good competition.”
Bulldog attack
John McCrae’s strength is clearly up front, with its attack led by Rozon and Chopra. Key defence player Ali Stukalo, goalkeeper Jennifer Michel and strong all-around player Ryan round out the Bulldogs’ lineup.
“We’ve been looking good,” notes Rozon, who recently helped her Nighthawks club team to the under-18 national field hockey title. “We want to get to OFSAA and see what we can do there.”
But first, the Bulldogs will need to make it through a difficult national capital playoff. Games are expected to take place Oct. 24-30 with the city final set for Oct. 31 at the Nepean Sportsplex.
Nepean coach Brian Lee knows it will be a tight race, but adds that he’s eager for his Knights to embrace the challenge and give it their best shot.
“There are a lot of very strong teams this year. But our girls have worked very hard and I’m confident they can do it,” Lee says.