Red Hawks varsity player Alexius Mills left charges for a loose ball looking to beat a Holy Cross defender in Kawartha High School Field Hockey League action on Thursday Oct. 4 in Haliburton. The game ended in a 0-0 draw earning the Hawks and the visiting Hurricanes their first points of the season./DARREN LUM staff

Hawks halt Hurricanes earn first point   

By Darren Lum

Published Oct 9 2018

The Red Hawks varsity field hockey team earned a hard fought 0-0 draw with the visiting Holy Cross Hurricanes on Thursday Oct. 4 at the Gary G. Brohman Athletic Field in Haliburton.

The teams each earned their first points of the Kawartha High School Field Hockey League season. This was the first of a back-to-back with the Hurricanes who will host the red and white on Tuesday Oct. 9. The Hawks and Hurricanes are tied for fourth place looking for their first victories with two games left in the season.

Haliburton will play their last game at home against the second place (as of Friday Oct. 5 with 3-1-0 record) Crestwood Mustangs. Game start is 2 p.m.

Coach Steve Smith appreciated his team’s efforts and their steady improvement particularly how they’ve worked hard at defence which resulted in the shutout on Thursday.

“One step forward. No steps back so it’s all good” he said.

However there were a few areas the team can concentrate on to move forward with their process.

“We still need to move the ball to our strong side. They still want to go to their weak side which we encourage them to go to their strong side. It’s their right side. We still need to work on that. We still need to work on some small fundamental things in and around our defensive end” he said.

Sharing the goalkeeping duties Thursday was Danaya MacDuff who played the first half and Daniella Rivard who closed out the game to finish the shutout.

Although this year’s Red Hawks field hockey team has yet to find its first victory it’s of little concern for Smith as he focuses on efforts for development and preparation for the Kawartha Championship playoffs.

This doesn’t discount the approach to each game.

He is quick to point out the team is always looking to win each regular season game they play.

“We don’t come out here to lose. Every [game] we come into we want to win” he said pointing at his black T-shirt with white writing: Some attempt. Others try … we do.

He reiterated his message given in the home opener that the team will work towards the Kawartha Championship playoffs.

“That’s when rubber meets the road” he said.