The 100 Mile House & District Soccer Association hosted the Cariboo Youth Soccer League finals, June 17.
Teams from Williams Lake, Quesnel, Prince George and 100 Mile House braved cold, rainy weather to compete in the tournament.
The 100 Mile U14 Girls finished the day with a tournament gold, opening with a 1-0 win over Williams Lake. Karlie Easton scored the lone goal, with Delaney Speers defending the host team’s net.
100 Mile chalked up another 1-0 victory over Quesnel in game 2, with Paige Hall finding the back of the opposing net, and Charlie McQueen was between the posts for 100 Mile.
The team’s only loss came in a 3-2 match with Prince George during which 100 Mile was not able to hold onto an early 2-0 lead, provided by Avery Rutledge and Kailey Lund.
Silver medals went to 100 Mile House U12 Girls who turned a regulation time 1-1 tie in game 1 into a 2-1 win following overtime and a shootout. Rachel Cross scored the winning goal and goalie Heather Heales held up well under pressure.
Game 2 ended 1-0 in favour of Prince George, but 100 Mile regained ground in game 3 against Quesnel when Courtney Cave capitalized on a goalie fumble for a 1-0 100 Mile victory.
Coach Lianne Heales says her team gets its strength from a solid defence, which allows the rest of the girls to play with confidence. “This was a big growth year for the team with lots of success.”
The U12 boys, coached by Ian Collinson and Casey Hall, played to a bronze-medal finish among six teams, after starting with a 3-0 loss to Williams Lake.
They bounced back with a 3-0 shutout against Prince George and tied another Williams Lake team to initiate overtime and then a shootout.
During the shootout, 100 Mile keeper Cameron Ardiel stopped four of five shots and teammates, Shon Baik and Ryan Wallace “delivered unstoppable shots for the win,” says Collinson.
The boys had a successful season, winning nine out of 11 games against other rep teams.
A trio of scoreless ties forced the U16 Girls into shootout situations for all of their games. Only one turned into a win, but coach John Park says his team played exceptionally well.
“Defensively, we excelled, allowing less than five shots on net all day. Offensively, we had many chances, but just were not able to find the back of the net.”
