Durham Attack | Hawks Finish 13th at Provincials

After an action-packed season where our Hawks climbed tournament-by-tournament all the way back to Tier 1, and a 5th place ranking at the last Tier 1 tournament, our Red Hawks had a off weekend and finished 13th at the Provincials. Even though hampered by injury and sickness, the Hawks were capable of finishing much higher. The Hawks let a few teams off the hook that they had beaten earlier this year, or which they were capable of beating.

They started out well on Saturday with a win over Kingston Pegasus. But the next two games against Etobicoke Titans and Waterloo Tigers were flat and suffering from a lack of communication and confidence. These weren't the Hawks we've come to know and love! They played very well at points, but could not finish the games, often losing in the last few points. Are they a lesser team? Probably not, but on this particular weekend the Hawks could not put it all together.

The heartbreaker was a cross-over game loss against Pakmen, a team our Hawks are clearly capable of beating. Leading at 21 each game, again the Hawks could not finish the Pakmen off and were relegated to the bottom 8 teams of the provincial championships for Sunday.

On Sunday morning the Hawks lost to Scarborough Titans, a team they have handled in previous tournaments. They started out very slowly but came alive and were a different team in the second game. We had high hopes in the tie breaker but it was not to be.

Afterwards we broke for the OVA awards. Congratulations to Taylor Cumming, our awesome Libero who won our OVA Award of Excellence!!! Way to go Taylor!

Our final match against Burlington Blaze was anti-climactic and the Hawks played well, earning a final win.

Shades of last year, when the girls played similarly at Provincials and we said "I wouldn't want to be playing against these girls at the Nationals! The Hawks know where they belong in the rankings and they have something to prove."

Teams have their ups and downs, and our Hawks are working hard in preparation for Nationals. As another coach we know in another sport has been known to say "It's all good. Win or lose, the girls are developing skills and experience and will become stronger with each outing." Our girls learned a valuable lesson and although the weekend was not what they had hoped it would be, it has been valuable experience to gain.

Congratulations to our sister team Durham Attack Black, who played with authority the entire tournament and were in a class of their own. And thanks for your support, parents and players!

On to Nationals, where in Moncton NB from May 11th-15th the Hawks hope to repeat last year's success.