The Napanee Golden Hawks defeated Holy Cross 2-1 this afternoon at the Invista Centre to win the Kingston Area Secondary School Athletic Association girls hockey championship.
Gabby Uens and Nikki Weese scored for Napanee.
Rebecca Johnston was the only Crusader to beat Golden Hawks netminder Makena Marlow.
“We worked really hard and played together as a team,” said Napanee’s Rachel Foster.
“Getting a 2-0 lead was so important,” added Foster.
“We got down a little bit when they scored that first goal but we didn’t break. We played some great defense and held them off. We were also missing our best player. Maddie Wheeler is currently playing for Team Ontario at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer, Alberta.”
Assistant captain Maddy Cronkwright says jumping out to a 2-0 lead was the difference in the game.
“We knew it was going to be a close game,” said Cronkwright.
“Getting that 2-0 lead allowed us to breathe a little easier. We concentrated on defence for the rest of the game and got some big saves from Makena.”
The Golden Hawks ( 10-0-1) were undefeated this season, and assistant captain Amber Weese says she knows the reason why they won the KASSAA crown.
“Were just a close knit group,” said Weese.
“We’ve played hockey together for a number of years and play softball together in the summer. We know each other really well and we trust each other. That makes for a special team. We play off that really well.”
Napanee now advances to the Eastern Ontario AA championship game.
The Golden Hawks will travel to Pembroke on March 4 to play Fellows High School for the right to represent the region at the Ontario championships.
The OFSSA tournament will be held March, 18-21 in Midland.
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