The Vernon United FC U17 girls team battled through four days of sweltering heat, to place fourth in B.C. at the Provincial B-Cup in Kamloops over the weekend.
Last Thursday, the girls opened the B.C. championships with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Bays United from Victoria.
Early in the first half, left winger Julia McLennan was taken down hard in the box.
Striker Jasmine Soon stepped up to the penalty spot and hammered the ball into the top of the net.
The game went back and forth with Marrah Wilford-Kaleikini turning away the Islanders time and again with acrobatic saves.
But, with five minutes left in the game, Bays tied it up. Not content with a draw, a determined Erika DeDauw promptly charged through Victoria’s defensive line, sidestepped the goalie and potted the winner.
On Friday, the team had to settle for a 1-1 tie against the Nelson Selects.
Hungry for a goal after hitting the post on her first clear chance, Lauren Cooke ran onto a booming free kick from Jasmine Soon and touched the ball past the keeper.
The Vernon girls pressed to build on their lead with Emery Britton rattling the cross bar not once but twice.
Late in the game, against the run of play, Nelson took advantage of a missed offside and equalized.
On Saturday, Davy Hornoi and Sophia Winstanley led the way with their all-out efforts.
Vernon hustled to the end against the eventual provincial champions, Coastal FC Royals from Surrey, losing out 4-0.
The team finished second in their group to advance to the bronze medal game on Sunday against Vancouver United FC Pumas.
It was a dominant first half for Vernon. Sophie Challen, Emery Britton and Brinnley Magee mystified the opposition with their ball retrieval and dynamic combination play in the midfield.
Up front, the speed of Erika DeDauw and Chloe Lu kept the Pumas on their heels. Sophie Scott, Julia McLennan, Marysa Vandenberg and Challen all tested the Vancouver keeper, while Vernon’s impenetrable back line of Lauren Cooke, Jayda Hatch, Jasmine Soon and Teagan Schober let nothing get through to keeper Marrah Wilford-Kaleikini.
Early in the second half, a surprise strike put Vancouver on the board.
Then, a thunderstorm rolled in and ended the game 32 minutes early, robbing the Vernon reps of the chance to come back for the bronze.
Two U16 players, Renée Acob and Sophie Scott, joined the U17’s for provincials and proved more than capable of competing with the older girls. Kate Lavery, injured all year, was an inspirational leader from the bench.
The U15 boys team will be in Langley this weekend to compete at their provincial tournament.
More information can be found at vernonsoccer.ca.
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@B0B0Assman
bowen.assman@vernonmorningstar.com
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