VICTORIA (CIS) – Niki Best, a rookie midfielder from Coquitlam, B.C., scored in the dying moments of regulation and the UBC Thunderbirds defeated the tournament host Victoria Vikes 3-2 in a shootout (3-1 SO) in the gold-medal final of the CIS-FHC women's field hockey championship, Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Thunderbirds added to a pair of national records as it marked their remarkable fifth consecutive McCrae Cup triumph and their 17th overall. The T-Birds are now 8-3 all-time in CIS title matches against archrival Victoria.
For the second straight day, UBC kept its gold medal hopes alive with a last-second goal. In Saturday's round-robin finale versus Toronto, the T-Birds escaped with a 2-2 draw and earned a spot in the final thanks to a 70th-minute marker by defender Sophie Jones.
"One thing I have been telling the team all season is to never give up," said fourth-year Hannah Haughn in utter shock after the win. "My teammates are amazing. They stick to the game plan from our amazing coach and you can't ask for more from them."
The T-Birds earned regular time goals from Emily Prystupa and Nicole Best with Best's goal coming on the second of two penalty corners called at the final whistle. Rowan Harris, easily the top keeper in the tournament, stood on her head both in regular time and, more importantly, in the shootout with two key saves to secure the win.
"They truly are a team," said UBC head coach Robin D'Abreo who wins his second national title in as many season coaching. "From the start of the season, to the start of this tournament, right through to the final whistle and final game they kept believing and improving. It's pretty special to be a part of and I am really proud of them."
Victoria earned free play goals from Lizzie Yates in the first half and Rosie Beale in the second half, while third-year keeper Larissa Piva had a valiant performance making critical saves in regular time and a memorable save on Championship MVP Hannah Haughn in the shootout.
The first half saw the Canada West rivals even in possession, mostly in mid field despite an early fourth-minute penalty corner for UBC. Unable to capitalize, the teams continued to play a game of chess in the middle of the pitch until Haughn showcased her talents ripping a back-hand that fired just over the cross bar in the 10th minute of play.
The Thunderbirds, despite not gaining many circle entries, were fortunate to earn a second penalty corner in the 15th minute after the Vikes were not five meters on a free hit outside the circle. The initial shot was blocked but Prystupa squeezed the rebound past piva to lift the T-Birds 1-0.
The Vikes had a penalty corner 18th minute and fourth-year midfielder Kathleen Leahy thought she had tied it up but the goal was called for the ball not being inside the circle when shot. The disappointed Vikes pleaded their case but the call remained.
In the 28th minute Yates took a quick free hit on the 23-meter line and drove the circle on the right side. The third-year speedster blasted a shot towards the middle of the circle and hit took a luck deflection off the back heel of fifth-year T-Bird Katrina Davis and tied the game 1-1. That score remained at half time.
The Vikes got a go-ahead goal in the 49th minute after forcing a penalty corner after some aggressive offensive pressure from forwards Amanda Kurianowicz and Stefanie Langkammer. Fourth-year defender Rosie Beale stepped up to the top of the battery and blasted an unpressured shot towards goal. The ball took a deflection off UBC's Meghan Hayden's foot to beat Harris low and give Victoria a 2-1 lead.
Two yellow cards three minutes apart left the Vikes playing short for eight minutes but the veteran squad did well still maintain most of the possession and attack in that time. With 15 minutes on the clock Leahy charged down the right side, beating two T-Birds, and blasted a shot just wide left of the goal post.
One minute later Haughn was causing havoc in the other end as the four-time CIS All-Canadian dangled her way into the circle and unleashed a back-hand shot that was saved well by the glove of Piva.
The Vikes had back-to-back chances on Harris with under five minutes to go as Langkammer's shot was saved and then Yates' shot went just wide right of the goal.
With under 20 seconds on the clock the Thunderbirds forced a penalty corner and the umpires allowed time to run out setting up a familiar scene from the Vikes' 2008 championship win over Alberta in the same end of the same field. The Thunderbirds' first penalty corner resulted in a re-take and, just like 2008 the Vikes were forced to defend two back-to-back corners with a 2-1 lead.
Cailean Meredith's initial shot in hit defender Annie Walters-Shumka's stick and fell just wide of Piva for Best to dive and tap the ball in as it trickled over the line to tie the game 2-2 in the dying moments of regular time.
The game went straight to shootouts with Victoria being eliminated 3-1 after just four of their shooters. Andrea Jones and Leahy were saved, while Kurianowicz was the lone scorer for the Vikes. Piva made a great first save on UBC's Haughn, while the next three shooters – Keglowtisch, Meredith and Jones – each tallied to lift the T-Birds to one of the most storied championship victories in CIS history.
"I said to the girls that it's funny our theme is the H-Factor because I said you have to hold your heads high," said Lynne Beecroft, head coach of the Vikes, as they earn their 10th CIS silver medal. "I'm very proud of the mand I know that losing and having a silver is a loss but I am so proud of them. Coaches said we were the best team here but we don't have a lot of natural goal scorers and tend to rely on (Kurianowicz). If we can't get her the ball then we have to find ways and we had chances but it didn't go our way today."
Following the match, Haughn was named the Championship MVP for the second time in her career (2012), while team mate Kelowitsch was also named to the Championship all-star list alongside Vikes Leahy, Walters-Shumka Kurianowicz.
SCORING SUMMARY
VIC: 1-1: 2
UBC: 1-1: 2
First half
UBC Emily Prystupa (1), 15th minute
VIC Lizzie Yates (1), 28th
Second half
VIC Rosie Beale (1), 49th
UBC Nicole Best (2), 70th
Goaltenders
UBC: Rowan Harris (W, 70:00, 2 GA, 2-1-1)
VIC: Larissa Piva (L, 70:00, 2 GA, 1-2-1)
SHOOTOUT SUMMARY
VIC: Andrea Jones, no goal (0-0)
UBC: Hannah Haughn, saved (0-0)
VIC: Lizzie Yates, saved (0-0)
UBC: Sarah Keglowtisch, goal (1-0)
VIC: Kathleen Leahy, saved (1-0)
UBC: Cailean Meredith, goal (2-0)
VIC: Amanda Kurianowicz, goal (2-1)
UBC: Sophie Jones, goal (3-1)
Players of the game
UBC: Sarah Keglowitsch (Shawnigan Lake, B.C.)
VIC: Lizzie Yates (Shawnigan Lake, B.C.)
CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS
Championship MVP: Hannah Haughn (West Vancouver, B.C.), UBC
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Guelph Gryphons
Championship All-Stars:
Hannah Haughn (West Vancouver, B.C.), UBC
Sarah Keglowitsch (Shawnigan Lake, B.C.), UBC
Amanda Kurianowicz (Calgary, Alta.), Victoria
Kathleen Leahy (Victoria, B.C.), Victoria
Annie Walters-Shumka (Victoria, B.C.), Victoria
Allison Chute (Greenfield Park, Que.), Guelph
Erin Houle (Burlington, Ont.), Guelph
Moon Weijens (Zelhem, Netherlands), Guelph
Alison Lee (Mississauga, Ont.), Toronto
Tegan Stairs (Kitchener, Ont.), Toronto
Amanda Woodcroft (Waterloo, Ont.), Toronto
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING
1. Victoria (Canada West champions: 7-0-1 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
2. Toronto (OUA champions: 11-1-0 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
3. UBC (Canada West runners-up: 4-3-1 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
4. Guelph (OUA silver medallists: 11-1-0 regular season / 1-1 conference playoffs)
STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times Pacific Time)
Round-robin standings (FINAL)
GP W L T GF GA PTS
1. Victoria 3 1 1 1 6 4 4
2. UBC 3 1 1 1 5 5 4
3. Toronto 3 1 1 1 5 7 4
4. Guelph 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
NOTE: 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.
Thursday, Nov. 5
16:00 Game 1: Guelph 2, UBC 1
18:30 Game 2: Victoria 4, Toronto 1
Friday, Nov. 6
16:00 Game 3: UBC 2, Victoria 1
18:30 Game 4: Toronto 2, Guelph 1
Saturday, Nov. 7
12:30 Game 5: Victoria 1, Guelph 1
15:00 Game 6: UBC 2, Toronto 2
Sunday, Nov. 8
12:30 Bronze Medal: Guelph 4, Toronto 2
15:00 Championship final: UBC 3, Victoria 2 (3-1 shootout)