The Lakettes (who now become the Lakers) had a good season, and finished second in their AAA Okanagan Zone Field Hockey League. The KSS Owls of Kelowna won the league and hosted the Valley Championships on November 1. As usual, it was a cool, crisp day, with a good crowd. Luckily both fields were in reasonable condition. In the semi final matches, the Lakers defeated the South Kamloops Titans 2-1 in a game which saw three penalty strokes, and KSS defeated The Mt. Boucherie Bears. This set the stage for yet another KSS - Pen-Hi Valley Final, for the 18th time in the past 19 years! (The only exception was in 1984 when Oliver finished first in league play, hosted the Valleys, and lost to Pen-Hi in the Final.) Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Owls notched 2 goals in the first half and added 1 more in the second to walk away with a 3-0 victory. Goalie Rachel Walker came up with several excellent saves and KSS hit the goalpost to prevent more Kelowna goals. The Lakers threatened on several occasions in the second half but to no avail. The Pen-Hi girls can hold their heads high however, as they never let up, and forced KSS to play at a very high level to take the victory.
The good news for Penticton is that the Okanagan has been awarded 2 berths to the Provincials, so the Lakers will compete in the BC's on November 12, 13, and 14 at the Burnaby Lake Sports Complex. It is quite possible that Pen-Hi and KSS could meet one more time this year at the Provincials, as has happened frequently in past years. In 2001, the Owls met the Lakettes in the BC Final!
This year's Alumni Game will take place on Sunday Nov. 9, at Pen-Hi. Game time will likely be 1:00 p.m. but Alumni are asked to check with Coaches Bevington or Perry or the Lakers Players for the definite time.
The photos on this page were taken by Larry Kenyon at the Valley Championships appear below.
