By Larry Moko
Field lacrosse as a sport is sprouting up for Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic high school teams.
On May 15, five schools took part in an inaugural co-ed field lacrosse tournament at St. John Henry Newman Catholic Secondary School.
Each squad played four games with the top finishers qualifying for semifinals and a championship game to be held May 22 at Newman.
The tournament winner then advances to Golden Horseshoe Athletic Conference AAA semifinals against Halton entries. And from there, GHAC's best will represent the region at an OFSAA festival event, June 3-4 in Whitby.
"All the lacrosse kids have been asking for this for years," St. Mary Crusaders coach Jason Kokoski said during opening-day action. "It's something our board has never done before even though it's kind of a thing at school boards around us.
"This year we decided to make it happen."
St. Mary, as the lone AA-size school, also gets a shot at an OFSAA festival June 1-2 in Burlington.
The majority of players at the Hamilton Catholic competition are new to field hockey. And some just picked up a lacrosse stick for the first time when practices began last month.
On the field, most players wear hockey helmets while others have lacrosse headgear. Most of the teams' lineups include several girls.
One of the newcomers is James Kostandoff of St. Mary.
"I've always wanted to play lacrosse," Kostandoff said. "This is a good way to get out there and hang with friends. I like it."
Like football and hockey, field hockey can be physical.
"It's not that bad," Kostandoff said. "Just a few slashes here and there."
In comparison, Jackson Lloyd of the Bishop Tonnos Titans is an experienced lacrosse player. He scored nine goals in helping Tonnos win three of its four starts.
"This is great," Lloyd said. "It's good for the sport to gain all this traction.
"It's been in the Halton region for a while now. I'm glad it's here."
Lloyd plays Junior C box lacrosse for the Burlington Warriors and field lacrosse for a club team in St. Catharines.
"It's a great sport for people to pick up," he said. "I like the physicality. It's a brotherhood, right? The guys are basically family out there."
Lloyd hopes to eventually land a university lacrosse scholarship.
First-day final scores were: Newman 8 Bishop Ryan 4; St. Thomas More 4 Tonnos 3; St. Mary 3 Newman 2; Tonnos 6 Bishop Ryan 1; More 6 St. Mary 2; Newman 4 Tonnos 3; More 7 Bishop Ryan 3; Tonnos 5 St. Mary 3; More 8 Newman 3; St. Mary 10 Bishop Ryan 4.
"All the games have been back and forth," Kokoski said. "So it's been pretty good."
Playoff games are scheduled to have 12-minute quarters with stop time in the last minute.
Photos by Richard Andoga
More photos on HWCDSB Athletics Facebook page
