Richmond's U-13 Field Lacrosse Captures Provincial Gold
Richmond's U-13 Field Lacrosse team capped their season on a thrilling note this past weekend by bringing home Gold from the British Columbia Field Lacrosse Provincial Championships that were held in Victoria March 17th -19th, a first for Richmond's Field Lacrosse Association. Not a small accomplishment from a team that Head Coach, Paul Sahota explained started their season with the understanding that with 8 players having never played field lacrosse previously and 2 players having never played lacrosse, that this was to be a "development year".
The tournament began with a convincing 10 - 3 win over Nanaimo, followed by a competitive 3 -2 victory against district rival Abbotsford. Saturday brought 2 more victories over Mid Island with a score of 7 - 4, and then against North Shore after a brutal battle resulting in a 7 - 4 victory to secure Richmond's spot in the final Gold medal game.
An extremely focused Richmond team earned an impressive 10 - 4 victory over Oceanside in Sunday's final Gold medal game that saw midfielder Matthew Pirozek earn his 2nd MVP of the tournament. Midfielder, Callem Peake and big stick, Jamie Takiya also brought home MVP awards to accompany their gold medals. Goalie, Jesse Macht also earned game MVP as he demonstrated the integral role he's played for this team all season. Jesse's stellar performance throughout the tournament resulted in holding the opposing teams to a combined total of only 17 goals against over 5 provincial championship games in a sport that sees an average of 10 goals against per game.
Captains; Trenton Matsuzaki (middy mid), Parker Sahota (middy mid) and Danny McDermott, who gave an outstanding performance on big stick, led the team to success during the tournament as they did throughout the season. Goals scored by attack men; Tyler Nett (9 goals), Hayden Bowering (5 goals), Nate Rajakumar (3 goals) and Carson Schmitz (3 goals) were determining factors in the team's ultimate success as was the contribution by other members of the attack, Travis Butschler and Sheldon Schwan. Other goals were scored by Jamie Takiya (7 goals), Matt Pirozek (4 goals), Callem Peake (2 goals), Luke Fiorante (1 goal), Parker Sahota (1 goal) and Trenton Matsuzaki (3 goals). A stellar defense provided by Jack Burchill-Roberts on big stick combined with the efforts of midfielders Matthew Sahota, Luke Fiorante, Trevor Smith, Andrew Duncan and Jonathan Tait were also key.
Head Coach, Paul Sahota along with assistant coach, Dan McDermott and trainer, Jason Boshard are proud of their team, not only for the end result of this weekend's Provincial Championship, but for the sportsmanship displayed throughout and for the tireless effort demonstrated all season by this group that has made the Richmond Lacrosse Association very proud. Also of note is the effort and support demonstrated by the group of parents involved. Given the number of players that are new to the sport on this year's team, the culmination of this year's effort is not to be taken lightly and just goes to show the rewards of working together as a team.
"I'm extremely proud of you all, way to go boys. You are truly champions."
Coach, Paul Sahota
|
