A trio of South Delta field hockey players have been named to the national U16 team that will be playing a series of test matches against the United States next spring.
Cailean Meredith, Cassidy Bremner and Krista Jensen have been selected to represent Canada following a long summer of intense training with the provincial team program.
Meredith, a Grade 10 student at South Delta secondary, was picked to play for the B.C. Blue team after an extensive selection process that included regional training, the U16 Foundations Festival and invitation-only provincial tryouts.
Bremner was named to B.C. Yellow and Jensen was selected as goalkeeper for B.C. White. All three teams met at the U16 Nationals in August where B.C. dominated.
Meredith's B.C. Blue team went undefeated through the nationals - with wins over B.C. White (1-0) and Alberta (10-0) in round-robin play, a 13-0 romp of Saskatchewan in its cross-over game, followed by a 4-3 semi-final victory against B.C. Yellow.
The semi-final win was perhaps Meredith's best game in the tournament as she scored two of her team's tallies in the 18th and 24th minutes of play. Bremner was a standout on the B.C. Yellow team, scoring its first goal on a penalty corner to kickstart her team's determined effort to fight back from a 4-0 halftime deficit.
Jensen was at her best in B.C. White's semi-final tilt with Ontario.
With the game tied at the end of regulation time, the teams went into a shootout with Jensen in goal for B.C. She stopped two of Ontario's players on their first approach and was able to prevent them from getting a second shot away in the 11-second penalty playing time. Her agility was the difference between the two teams and carried B.C. White into the final against B.C. Blue.
The gold medal game saw the teams exchange early goals and the score remain deadlocked until Meredith notch the winner for B.C. Blue with just seven minutes remaining.
In addition to Meredith, Jensen and Bremner, Tsawwassen's Libby Pritchard and Samantha Redmond were members of the very strong silver medal team.
Following the tournament, Meredith, Jensen and Bremner all attended the U16 Junior National Camp at UBC - a week-long selection process where they had the chance to train and compete with top players from across Canada.
While getting ready to take on the United States next April, the girls are all actively competing in women's league play through the fall and winter.
Bremner and Meredith are teammates on India Club's division one women's team. Both have volunteered as junior coaches for the local Delta Falcons Field Hockey Club for several seasons.
Jensen has played with the Falcons for many years and continues to play goal as needed for the club's three women's teams.
Meredith and Jensen are also currently playing together for South Delta secondary's highly ranked senior team. The Sun Devils travel to Victoria over the Thanksgiving weekend to compete in the prestigious Bridgman Cup.
