By Ryan Laverty
The Dinos put up a valiant effort in their last Canada West field hockey tournament of the year this past weekend in Victoria. While defeatist attitudes were checked at the gate when the team boarded the plane to British Columbia, there had to be a sense of uncertainty hanging over the heads of the squad.
Following a terrible representation of their talent two weeks earlier in Winnipeg, the Dinos knew they had their work cut out for them. Since they only managed a tie in their four games in Manitoba, the women needed their best showing of the year–they had to win three of four games–on the island. No small feat considering the competition.
"We had to regroup and do some soul-searching after the last tournament," explained Head Coach Carl Dalton. "And I thought we represented ourselves quite well this time around."
The reality is, no matter how well they may have played on the coast, in the end only the ticks in the win column count. The girls managed to redeem themselves against Manitoba administering a 2-0 beating. They also drubbed the University of Alberta 3-0–the first regular season win over our northern neighbours. Unfortunately the Dinos fell short of the mark once again, dropping games to the universities of British Columbia and Victoria.
"With only the top two advancing to playoffs it was definitely a long road for us," said Dalton. "I think it was just too far to go."
Dalton admits there is work to be done and that in the coming months the team will improve.
"We have a tough time competing against UBC and UVic because they start the game so much earlier there," reasoned Dalton. "They have so much knowledge of the game and so much ability. We need to get to that level."
As dismal as the season seemed there were some bright spots. Most notable was captain Carolyn Fitzgerald’s invitation to the Canadian National Team camp and her selection to the Canadian Interuniv-ersity Sport All-Star team for 2001.
If Dalton has his way, they’ll be more than one Dino on that list next season.