Tsawwassen's Short leads Canada to tournament opening win
Tsawwassen's Rob Short led Canada's men's field hockey side to a convincing 9-0 win in their first Olympic qualifying match in New Delhi, India on Saturday (Feb. 18).
Short, who grew up playing with the Tsawwasen Falcons club, scored a pair of goals, added an assist and blocked a goal-bound shot on the line from a penalty corner.
Fellow Tsawwassenite, Mark Pearson, was also involved in a scoring play early in the match when Canada's David Jameson gave Canada a 1-0 lead from a penalty corner.
"Great way for us to start the tourney," Pearson said by email following the game. "We came out hard and put pressure on the Italian backs from the first minute which generated us some good turnovers. We shared the scoring around and capitalized on our chances."
See video highlights of the match here.
The six-team tournament's winner will earn a berth at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.
With little time to celebrate the win—Canada takes on Poland Sunday—Pearson said the focus shifted quickly to the next game.
He added the Polish side is expected to provide a tougher test—they beat Canada in overtime in a tournament in South Africa prior to Christmas.
Following the match Feb. 19 against Poland Canada faces Singapore (Feb. 21), hosts India (Feb. 22) and France (Feb. 24).
The final is set for Feb. 26.
On the women's side of the tournament, Tsawwassen's Sara McManus was part of Canada's side that drew 2-2 with Italy earlier Saturday at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.
They face hosts India Sunday.
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