Grace Miller
Courtesy UW Athletics. Photo Tianna Dip
When OUA teams line up against the undefeated, reigning field hockey champions, their offensive attempts come to a full stop if UW’s Grace Miller is guarding the net. Only one goal has been scored against her in four games, and she leads the league in saves and save percentage. The Warriors effectively have a wall stopping their opponents’ shots.
Raised in Waterloo, Miller was originally a goalkeeper in soccer and transitioned to field hockey in the tenth grade. Waterloo’s coaches reached out to her in her senior year, and she’s been a Warrior ever since.
She has the same routine every week: studying during her free time, spending time with her teammates, and listening to music before the match starts.
Coming into Saturday’s game against the University of Toronto’s Blues, the team carried a chip on its shoulder after losing to the Blues in the regular season last year, where Miller shared minutes with a teammate. In this season, now the team’s main goalkeeper, self-confidence and trust in her teammates are what make her great.
“[Our team] is super close and we have a great team dynamic. That’s where we find our success, we recognize when one of us isn’t performing at a hundred percent and step up for them and help them out,” she says.
The team effort paid off, shutting out the Blues 1-0. In Sunday’s game against the York Lions, she put on an incredible performance, blocking seventeen shots to secure a 2-1 win over what has historically been one of the best teams in the OUA.
An action-movie dive from Miller to stop a shot from the Lions at the end of the third quarter, when the game was tied, gave the Warriors the adrenaline they needed to score another goal before the end of regulation.
“It happened really fast, they shot it at the ground at the far post, and I hit it with the tip of my stick at the last second. I trust everyone in front of me, and they trust me, and I totally thought that it was going in, so I think that [revitalized our team],” she recalls.
The Warriors dominated the fourth quarter after that to maintain their perfect season.
Rapidly becoming one of the most successful athletic programs at UW, the field hockey team prioritizes its athletes and their academics, going from five practices a week to three to minimize their load. They’re looking to go back-to-back this year.
“That’s just been our thing. We know we have to work to maintain our success, and we’re not stopping for a minute before we play [the Western Mustangs] next week. We’ve only lost two players from last year. I know I won [athlete of the week], but really, it was a team effort. Everyone on our team matters,” Miller said.
The field hockey team plays back-to-back this weekend, Saturday in London and Sunday in Waterloo.
Patrick Dean
Courtesy UW Athletics. Photo Courtney Caird
At the Don Mills open this weekend, spectators at the end of the race saw Patrick Dean cross the finish line second, with an astonishing time of 18:37 over six kilometres. He moved up thirty-six places from last year and led the team to a sixth-place finish.
“There’s more to come,” Dean says. “This meet was more of a warmup for the OUA championship at the end of the month, and it’s good to be recognized, but I still have more to show.”
Due to the immense physical strain running puts on the body, distance runners organize themselves and don’t go all out at every race. Dean says he “[liked his] performance, but I’m just getting ready for the big event.”
From Whitby, Ontario, Dean has always been a strong runner. He got into the sport with his older brother, the assistant coach for the Warriors cross-country program and a former alumnus and team captain, when he was around ten years old. A top ten runner in the province during high school, he came to Waterloo to pursue a major in peace and conflict studies.
He looks up to Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge. An avid fan of the sport, Dean regularly watches film and works to improve his running technique by studying the world’s best.
He dedicates himself to his training as well, running up to 85 kilometres a week to condition himself for his competitions. He slows down in the weeks leading up to a meet to avoid burnout, consulting with his coaches to protect his body.
“[The cross-country coaches] are very knowledgeable. One majored in kinesiology and the other was a national-level track runner, so they really take care of [our team] and know how to pace us,” he said.
The mental aspect of the sport is more important than the physical, according to Dean. “It’s more of a competition with yourself than with other people. I just want to cross the finish line knowing I did everything I could, regardless of where I finish.”
The cross-country team competes again at the end of the month in the OUA, on Oct. 25.
