Main photo: The U17 Hawks celebrate their championship win (back from left) manager Jocelyn Knox, head coach Jason Rudge, Bradley Webb, Ryan Clarke, Brandon Foley, Riley Knox, Zach Blair, Owen Pare, Ayden Veitch, Wesley Morton, Preston Standing, assistant coach Cory Veitch; (front from left) Tyler Mackinnon, Cole Frasier, Cole Punchard, Quinton Greenfield, Griffin Andrews, Kean Pare (AP), and Zander Slater. (Missing from photo: trainer Chris Greenfield)
The Huntsville Hawks were excited to bring home the 2019 U17D provincial championship this month.
Huntsville attended the OMFLL (Ontario Minor Field Lacrosse League) provincials in Brampton on the May long weekend, competing in the U17D division.
The Hawks’ first game of the tournament was against Oakville 2 where they took their first win 9-6. Dominating their second game against Hamilton 2 with 14-3 win earned the team a bye straight into the semi-finals.
Their next opponents, Orillia, were tougher to beat. The Hawks led most of the game until the fourth quarter where Orillia took control of the ball and managed to score four back-to-back goals to tie the game with only 1:30 remaining. With both teams fighting to move on to the final, possession of the ball was key to winning and the Hawks knew it. The Hawks kept possession of the ball, allowing them to score the game-winning goal for a final score of 9-8.
In the final, the Hawks met Oakville 2 once again. Despite losing to Huntsville in round robin play, as well as in regular season play, Oakville would not easily concede defeat.
It was a tight game with Oakville 2 taking the lead in the first half, and then both teams showing grit and determination to bring the game to a 5-5 tie by the end of the third quarter.
The Hawks’ bench—16 players compared to Oakville‘s 31—didn’t prove to hinder their play. They controlled possession of the ball to score one final for the win, 6-5, and the 2019 provincial championships.
Coach Jason Rudge said he is “very proud of the young athletes that competed all weekend long. We faced some adversity and injuries throughout the season but came together when we needed to put four strong games together to finish off our season with a win, which we all strive to do at the start of practice one. This championship was a complete team effort, every player on the roster had some part of this win and our great season.”
The Huntsville District Minor Lacrosse Association is excited to hang another championship banner in the Jack Bionda Arena for the 2019 season.
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