Lakecity soccer teams brought home a bus load of medals from the North Shore Girls Soccer Club Thanksgiving Tournament in North Vancouver over the long weekend.
The Williams Lake Storm U18 girls rep team defeated Yukon 4-1 in the gold-medal game at Windsor Secondary School, while their counterparts, the Williams Lake Storm U16 girls rep team, won silver, dropping a heartbreaker, 2-1, to Whistler in the final.
Brian Hansen, coach of the U18 Storm, said the tournament was a fulfilling way to cap off the season.
“The thing that struck me on the way home was every single person played every single minute of every game,” he said. “It was 110 per cent from everybody, for all four of our games.”
The team, who have been playing together since late April, grew as players and teammates considerably over the season, he added.
At the tournament the U18 Storm went unbeaten winning three games and tying one.
“The way they play together as a team — that’s really the neat part,” Hansen said. “They really work well as a unit.”
Hansen added the future is bright for the U18 Storm, as around half of the team’s players will be back next year.
“They’re just a really good bunch of kids,” he said. “We got quite a few compliments from teams on not only how well we play but how sportsmanlike we are — so that’s nice to hear.”
Meanwhile, the U16 Storm were busy making a name for themselves.
Brenda Mann, coach of the U16 Storm, said the team played some amazing tactical soccer.
The team beat Port Coquitlam in its opener 1-0, downed North Shore Delta 2-0 and shutout CA United 3-0 before falling to Whistler.
“It was a really tight match [in the final],” Mann said. “We had played Whistler earlier in the year and had beaten them so it was a bit disappointing to not be able to do it again but it was a well-matched game. ”
Goal scorers for the Storm in the tournament were Carly Magnuson, Ashley Straza, Kara Zurak (2), Morgan Schofield (2) and Jasmine Baye (1).
“The team was solidly anchored by defensive lines including Natasha Lewis, Bailey Schick, Morgan Lord and Natasha Brown,” Mann said. “Versatile player Eryn Ritchat-Fontaine worked in both defence and offensive lines joined by Sydney McLean, Carly Walters, Ashleigh Lyons and Caylin Tomm through the mid line and Teneal Schick on offensive.
“With the support of keeper Sam Delacherois the team managed shutouts in its first three games and gave up only two goals in the tournament.”
