The novice girls Cowichan Thunder finished their box lacrosse season in fine form last weekend by taking the silver medal at the Port Moody Golden Spike Tournament.
After going through the entire regular season with just one loss, the Thunder headed to the Mainland to face some strong competition, and more than held their own.
Cowichan opened the tournament with a 10-3 loss to a Coquitlam 1 team they would face again, getting their goals from Sada Bennefield, Ryley Wing and Briar Tait.
Tait led the way with seven goals in Cowichan’s next match, a 13-0 victory over Langley. Wing potted four and Bennefield notched three in the last round-robin game, a 7-5 win over Ridge Meadows.
Tait came up big again in the playoff semifinal, scoring in sudden-death overtime against Coquitlam 2, while Felicity Dunn-Chappell earned the win in goal.
The Thunder got a rematch against Coquitlam 1 in the final, and had a closer result than in the tournament opener, with Coquitlam earning a 5-1 win.
Hard-working Julia Hussey had a strong tournament, stepping up with determination and physical play, and Dunn and Aubree Thorne shared goaltending duties.