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The Fernie Flash women’s soccer team travelled to Calgary on the April 11-12 weekend to take part in the annual Spring Cup Indoor Tournament. The Spring Cup over-35 tournament hosts teams from Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C., and this year 49 teams participated.
The Flash, led by longtime coach Gino Elia, performed well in pool play winning all three games 8-3, 2-1, and 9-4 respectively.
“Our level of fitness as a team allows us to maintain a very high pace of play so we do a great job of wearing down our opponents,” said veteran defender Nicole Bush.
Solid goalkeeping by Teresa Mazzei-Lewis helped bolster the team’s confidence, leading them into the finals of their division, where they faced Edmonton’s Dovercourt squad, who was no match for Fernie’s offensive punch.
This year’s tournament was also particularly significant for the ladies of the Fernie Flash. They dedicated the tournament, and particularly their final game, to their friend and teammate Eirin Amundsen who passed away earlier this year in a car accident. The team wore black armbands for their final game and was happy to bring home the gold in their friend’s honour.
Despite having no league to play in and no proper indoor facility to practice in, the Fernie Flash were a team to be reckoned with at this tournament. In addition to finishing with a 4-0 record, Fernie was second overall for goals scored in the entire tournament at 27 (the top team scored 28). They have earned the respect of their competitors and the tournament organizers with their gritty style of play and relentlessly positive attitude.
