The Shawnigan Senior Girls Field Hockey squad wrote history over the mid-term break and it had nothing to do with class work. The 21 player squad is the first Shawnigan field hockey team to bring home the elusive blue banner as AA Provincial Champions.

"I am really proud of our girls because I feel that they really deserve this big win since they worked so hard together for over 15 months and became such a powerful group of young, inspired and committed athletes," stated Director of Field Hockey and coach Benjamin Koepp.

After confidently securing a provincial berth as Island Champions, the Shawnigan squad also snagged the #1 seed for the Provincial championships based on their undefeated 24-3-1 season record. The girls left no doubt to their top ranking by marching through pool play, quarter finals and semi-finals with a total tally of 29 goals and conceding only 1 against.

As anticipated the squad faced off against AA rivals and defending 2010 champions Collingwood. Having already defeated the Collingwood team at their first meeting during the UBC Tier I tournament, the Shawnigan squad knew that the pressure was on for a repeat performance and that the Collingwood players would be on fire to revenge their previous 2-5 loss.

The match was physical with dynamic running from both teams and plenty of action in the offensive zones. Shawnigan drew first blood off of a rebound and notched a second goal off of a tip late in the second half to secure the victory.

Co-coach Kelly Koepp emphasizes the team unity that has propelled the team on their road to success from the very beginning. "This team has worked hard for this moment. Every single player on the squad from our most experienced to the ones that have only picked up a stick for the first time in the last year have brought something valuable to the squad. They are unrelenting in their positive support of each other and putting in a 100% both on and off the field. Some of them have dreamed of this title since grade 8 and they really deserve to savour the feeling of being champions."