Field Hockey
The SMUS Senior Girls finished fifth in the B.C. AA field hockey championship tournament played last week in West Vancouver.
The defending-champion Blue Jags found themselves up against a solid Sutherland team in their first pool game. After an early SMUS penalty corner goal from Mia Muller, Sutherland scored two late goals to win 2-1.
The Blue Jags followed up that loss with a straightforward 5-0 victory over Southridge in their second game, setting up a crucial match against B.C. No. 2 seed York House. SMUS certainly rose to the occasion, getting two early goals from Anika Delichte and Avery Geddes and holding on for a convincing 3-1 win. Anna Beaudry scored the Blue Jags’ third goal in the third quarter.
The win moved SMUS into the quarter-final and a re-match of last year's B.C. AA championship game with Little Flower Academy. After a tight, entertaining game ended in a scoreless draw, Little Flower won in the shootout despite some heroics from Blue Jags’ goalkeeper Amelie Fleck, who was sensational.
The SMUS girls re-grouped to win their final two games of the tournament, earning a shootout victory over Shawnigan Lake and a 1-0 revenge decision over Sutherland on a Caitlyn Mullen penalty corner and some smart defence centred around Wynn Brown, Katharina Heinemann and Annabel Howard.
“Overall, fifth-place out of 16 was a very credible finish to the tournament and the end of a fine season for the SMUS girls,” said Head Coach David Kerr. “Vivat!”
Senior Boys Soccer
The SMUS Senior Boys are off to the B.C. AA high school soccer championship tournament at the end of this month, thanks to a thrilling 4-3 penalty-kicks victory over Brentwood College in the Vancouver Island third-place game last week in Courtenay.
The Blue Jags began the eight-team Island tournament with a split in their first two pool play games last Monday, beating Gulf Islands Secondary 2-0 before dropping a 4-1 decision to Victoria rival Lambrick Park.
Striker Sam Bruninx scored the first goal against Gulf Islands on a penalty shot, after some good work by Davis Hardy to earn the penalty. Bruninx also scored the team’s second goal after the break to seal the victory. Lambrick scored twice in the first half to take control of the Blue Jags’ second game. SMUS managed one goal in the second half and got some terrific play from Sebastien Bixby at the left back position but was unable to mount a comeback against the Lions.
The SMUS side benefitted from the fact that its second-day games were played on grass, rather than turf. The Blue Jags met host Mark Isfeld in their third game of the tournament. SMUS trailed 1-0 at the half, but excellent goals from Cole Michel and Bruninx helped power the Blue Jags to a 3-1 win.
That set up a bronze-medal showdown against Brentwood, with the winner earning the Island’s third and final berth in the B.C. tournament. Competition in this game was fierce and a Brentwood goal left the Blue Jags trailing early. However, Nick Gordon and Marcus Lam improved SMUS’s back line coordination and the front-line trio of Rayane Hmidi, Michel and Bruninx began to push offensively. A beautiful assist by Bruninx enabled Hmidi to find the back of the net and pull the Blue Jags even. Michel added another goal before the break to give SMUS a 2-1 lead at the half.
In the second half, Brentwood scored again to draw even at 2-2 – a score which held all the way through regulation and extra time. Hmidi started SMUS off strongly in the penalty-kick round by scoring on the team’s first opportunity. After some strong saves by SMUS goalkeeper Fynn Brueck, Michel was good on the penalty kick that propelled the Blue Jags to the bronze-medal win and the B.C. berth.
The SMUS side now prepares for the B.C. AA tournament November 20-22 in Burnaby.
Senior Girls Volleyball
The SMUS Senior Girls qualified for the Island AAA girls volleyball championship tournament this coming weekend with a clutch win over Esquimalt this past week.
With their playoff fate hanging in the balance, the Blue Jags took control and used a total team effort to beat Esquimalt 25-12, 25-17 and lock up the final Lower Island berth in the Island championships that will be played this coming Friday and Saturday at Vic High.
Prior to the match against Esquimalt, SMUS faced a very determined Vic High squad, which was set on qualifying for the Island tournament that it will host. Vic High students and supporters filled the gym with fans and energy for this contest, which helped the Totems come out very strong. Vic High won the first set 25-22, shocking the Blue Jags who struggled to control the ball on serve receive. However, SMUS settled in and started to develop a well-rounded offence led by senior setter Ava Gillespie and Grade 11 middles Kate Fraser and Monika Jurkovcova. The team also found its serving groove with an impressive run by Isabelle LeRoy. SMUS took the second set 25-11, forcing a third and deciding set, but Vic High’s confidence and determination proved too much to handle and the Blue Jags dropped the final set 15-7.
The top three teams from this coming weekend’s AAA Island championship tournament will qualify for the provincial championships November 30 to December 2 in Dawson Creek.
SMUS is also playing in the Lower Island league finals this week, competing
for the Veterans Cup against Belmont and Oak Bay.
Junior Girls Volleyball
The SMUS Junior Girls Development Volleyball team, which wrapped up its schedule this past weekend, experienced a season full of growth, says Coach Samantha Butler.
The Blue Jags finished second in regular play and fifth overall in their Lower Island division. They competed in their final tournament at Belmont this past weekend, riding a big win in the third set over rival Claremont to reach the tournament’s top tier, which included only ‘A’ teams aside from the Blue Jags. The highlight of the weekend came in two victories over Belmont 'A', during which SMUS played its best volleyball of the season.
“Captains Emily McMillan and Cindy Chen led this amazing group in the right direction,” Butler says. “With positive attitudes and a desire to get better, they showed not only improvement in their skills, but their camaraderie and positive spirit made them amazing ambassadors for our school.”
Senior Boys Volleyball
The SMUS Senior Boys Volleyball team began playoffs last week, finishing fourth on the Lower Island and qualifying for this coming weekend’s Island AA tournament at Mark Isfeld in Courtenay.
The Blue Jags were ranked fifth on the Lower Island and had to face No. 4 Parkland, a team with some talented club players, in their opener. This was a key match because the winner automatically qualified for the Island tournament.
Trailing Parkland 8-1 to start the game, SMUS fought hard to close the gap and used some amazing blocks by Elliot Mairet and Nicholas Lee to pull even at 23-23. The Blue Jags ultimately dropped that one by a 25-23 score, but bounced back to win the second set 25-14. SMUS trailed 12-8 in the deciding third set, but rallied back thanks to outstanding setting by Connor Kipling and big blocks by Jack Dube and Kaden Fuller to pull off a 17-15 upset and advance to the Lower Island semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, SMUS fell to Island favourite Vic High, which put the Blue Jags into the third-place match against Esquimalt. SMUS rode strong first-set play to a 25-17 win in that match. However, Esquimalt bounced back to take the second set and force the tie-breaker. Esquimalt prevailed 15-12 in the third set to finish third, leaving the Blue Jags fourth.
