Saturday, Oct. 16 @ Queen's vs. Carleton
Waterloo 5, Carleton 0

The Warriors travelled to Kingston this past weekend in hopes of acquiring two wins and taking a step closer to getting a playoff position.

Still in the hunt for third place but playing “catch up” due to the fact that both York and Western had already played more games than the Warriors and were also scheduled to play before Waterloo's first game at Queen's, the players were determined to come out strong and keep the pressure on with a solid result against Carleton.

The Warriors were able to start the game well and scored within the first 10 minutes as Melissa Lewis (Waterloo/) opened her season tally after some nice baseline play by her team-mates. Carleton then settled into the match and both teams were finding it difficult adjusting to the turf and lighting.
 

Warriors Courtney Bisch (Wellesley/) was able to get on the score-sheet and then Meghan Bester (Waterloo/) put in a nice reverse stick goal to make it 3-0 at the half-time break.

After another quick start, with Kara Moro (Port Moody/) getting in on the action with a goal within the first two minutes of the second half, focus shifted towards controlling and changing the tempo of the game instead of trying to produce offensively. Carleton remained steadfast in defending and stepped up their aggressiveness and because Waterloo weren't applying as much pressure, the Ravens were able to generate decent attacking plays. This allowed for the Warriors to work counter-attacking and as a result, the spectators were all rewarded with some attractive end to end open hockey.

 Towards the end of the game, the team put the pressure back on Carleton and were able to get some penalty corners. Tatum McLeod (Cambridge/) scored from one with about 10 minutes left to play and the Warriors picked up a 5-0 victory over the Ravens.

Sunday, October 17 @ Queen's vs. McGill
Waterloo 2, McGill 1

On Sunday, the Warriors had to wait until the last game of the day again before stepping onto the field which allowed the team to get a better understanding of the playoff picture. York had secured six points by winning on both days but Western lost to Toronto on Saturday. They rebounded on Sunday with victories over McGill and Queen's to pick up six points. What this meant was that even though a draw against McGill would end the Martlet's season, the Warriors needed to win to stay in the running for third place.

Determined to keep their playoff hopes alive, McGill started the game more aggressively than the Warriors and kept the play in Waterloo's half. The defenders had to be on top of their game and were able to keep the scoring opportunities to a minimum. Either team was able to get on the board and the score was 0-0 heading into the second half.

With a change in formation and quicker passing, the Warriors were able to turn things around and balance the play out in the second half. Despite McGill still enjoying more of the ball, possession was primarily in their end of the field. So, with the advantage in territory, Waterloo generated more scoring opportunities and went ahead after 50 minutes when Courtney Bisch (Wellesley/) executed a lovely feint on a 2 on 1 and then flicked a powerful shot past the McGill goalkeeper.

Fifteen minutes later, Kara Moro (Port Moody/) made the score 2-0 after tipping in a hard hit from the top of the D by Ally Kocukov. McGill made things interesting for the last two minutes by scoring on a penalty corner goal as Bronwen Clayfield-Jewett (Waterloo/) lost her chance at a second shut-out on a shot that found its way into the corner of the net through a maze of players crowding the front of the goal. Full marks to McGill for battling right to the end (and in every game they've played this year) but as the final whistle blew, they knew their season was over. For the Warriors, there was relief at having secured a playoff position but joy at having kept pace with York and Western, and getting 6 points.

With all road trips done, the Warriors will host for the second time this season at St. David's Catholic High School next weekend (October 23^rd and 24^th). The complete game schedule for the last of the regular season games can be found here:

http://www.athletics.uwaterloo.ca/schedule.aspx?path=fhockey

With 18 points, the team currently sits in fifth place but only three points behind both York and Western. And, with Western having played two additional games and York having played one additional game, the Warriors are still very much in the running for third place overall.

Come out to support your Warriors Field Hockey team as they prepare to battle Western ( 10:00am on Saturday), Toronto (4:00pm on Saturday) and Carleton (10:45am on Sunday). The Warriors will be looking for three wins to set themselves up  nicely for the playoffs.