either Pre

September 23 1998

 

 

Eat Grass!

nder the lights and on the turf of

the Andy Livingston Park last

Wednesday, the Douglas College
ield Hockey team opened its inaugural
eason in the Vancouver Division II league
ith a 4—O loss to the Thunder from North
/ancouver.

A loss is uncommon for the Royals, as
st year they routinely slaughtered their
urnaby League opponents S— or 6-0.
owever, the Burnaby League plays its
ames on grass, while Andy Livingston Park
nd the soon to be complete home field for

*

the Royals) is covered with a rug of artificial
turf. To quote Coach Ann Marie Fearn, “It’s
a fast game [on turf], [a] much more skillful
game.”

Although the Royals are taking what
Coach Fearn calls a “huge step,” from the
Burnaby League to Vancouver D-II, the
Royals did impress for a season opener. In
the first half they managed to keep the
Thunder off the scoreboard for about 10
minutes, coming very close to notching a
few goals of their own shortly after the
opening whistle. A couple of defensive
breakdowns and a wickedly placed shot by
one of the North Van forwards put the

Making sentient spit bubbles since 1976

 

 

Inside

IN

55

Volume 23 ¢ Issue 3

   

 

 

Field Hockey Team Opens with a Loss

opposing team up 3-0 at halftime.

In the second half the Royals picked up
their play, evidenced by conceding only one
goal, stopping several dang. >us offensive
chances from the Thunder and deftly coun-
terattacking, once sending a forward in on a
partial breakaway. The Royals were also
handicapped for the latter part of the clos-
ing frame, because one of their defenders
was cut on the hand when the ball struck
her. With no substitutes to turn to, Ann
Marie let her charges finish out the match.
Not having a full complement of players
didn't seem to faze the team as they fought

the final whistle, walking away with heads

 

held high. Coach Fearn was pleased with her
team, saying “[They played] not too bad. It
[playing on turf] takes a little getting used
to things. We are missing some key starters,
but it'll come. They looked a lot better in
the second half.”

The Royals will be competing at Andy
Livingston Park for the next couple of
games while their field is completed behind
the David Lam campus, but soon the
Douglas College Field Hockey team will
have a place to call their own.