Sr. Girls North Island Championship Day 1 results

The senior girls opened the tournament against Woodlands High School and looked sharp in their 4-1 win. Brianne Z. opened the scoring with a near post strike after cutting in from the wing. Julianna C. soon followed up with a second goal for Shawnigan as she was the first one to find the ball during a scramble following a throw-in. Woodlands finished the first half with an exclamation point, scoring from long range on a thunderous strike. Shawnigan was unfazed by this unexpected goal and came out strongly again in the second half. Brianne scored again from the same position as before, and was a constant danger from the wing. Nicole B. closed out the scoring with a textbook turn that took her through the Woodlands defense. Her quick shot found the top left corner behind the helpless Woodlands goalkeeper.

Shawnigan dominated their second game against Ballenas but had trouble finishing their chances. Several grade A chances went begging and the game was scoreless until late in the second half. A tie would have been enough to give them a bye to the semi-final, but unfortunately a mental lapse with under a minute left in the game resulted in a break for Ballenas and they made no mistake. The disappointing 1-0 loss meant that Shawnigan would have to play a third game against Mark Isfeld in order to qualify for the semi-finals on Tuesday.

Going into the quarter-finals, the girls were understandably both mentally and physically tired. They came out a little flat against Mark Isfeld, and were forced to defend for the first few minutes. To their credit, they rallied well and managed to play their way into the game; establishing their passing game, and turning up the heat on defense. Lizzie Y. pushed forward through the midfield and opened the scoring with a long, looping shot that caught the Isfeld goalkeeper wrong footed and dipped just under the bar. Julianna soon followed her lead, as she combined very well with Bryn M. playing her in behind the Isfeld defense and then making no mistake when Bryn angled the ball back to her behind the keeper. Chloe G. closed out the scoring with a shot that overpowered the Isfeld goalkeeper from just inside the penalty area. Although the result never looked in doubt, the girls learned a good lesson from their earlier disappointment and made sure to secure the win. Their next game will be in the semi-final round on Tuesday afternoon against Brentwood. Gulf Islands will play Ballenas in the other semi-final.

Sr. Girls North Island Championship Day 2 results

Day 2 of the North Island tournament started with the semi-final round pitting Shawnigan against Brentwood and Gulf Islands against Ballenas. Unfortunately, Shawnigan seemed to be feeling the effects of playing an extra qualifier on Day 1, and the girls came out flat against their rivals. Although their passing attack was sometimes effective in the midfield, Shawnigan lacked composure in the attacking third, and a couple of defensive errors led to Brentwood going into the half time break with a 2-0 lead. Shawnigan rallied well in the second half and cut the deficit in half when a Lizzie Y. free kick found the top right corner. The goal gave Shawnigan a burst of energy and they pressured the Brentwood goal for the rest of the half. Unfortunately, time ran out and the girls were relegated to the third place game, a rematch against the other semi-final losers, Ballenas.

The disappointment against Brentwood showed the girls that extra concentration would be needed if they wanted to avenge their Day 1 loss against Ballenas. They came out with energy early on, and created a couple of half chances, but Ballenas was a strong opponent and the game was well balanced. Shawnigan finally managed to solve their opponent’s high defensive line, and Sydney H. ran onto a perfect diagonal ball from the midfield to touch past the keeper and finish into the open net. The goal kept Ballenas aggressive keeper closer to the goal line for the rest of the half, and this opened up a gap behind the defense. Sydney quickly took advantage with her second goal. Her low shot handcuffed the keeper and rolled into the bottom left corner of the goal. Although Shawnigan continued to pressure the Ballenas goal for the entire second half, they found their lead cut to one when a miscommunication in the defense allowed them to scramble a goal. The goal gave them new life leading to some tense moments in the closing minutes, but Shawnigan’s passing allowed them to maintain the ball and Ballenas sporadic attacks were not strong enough to break through.

With their win, the girls secured third place in the tournament behind Brentwood and Gulf Islands. They will travel to Victoria next week to compete in the Island Tournament for a place in provincials.

– Mitsuru Nakagawa, Coach

Photos by Stephen Lane