Three Williams Lake girls are on their way to the B.C. Soccer Provincial B Cup.
The girls, Paige Gudbranson, Morgan Moore and Melissa Styran, are part of the Quesnel Denny’s Strikers U14 team.
The Quesnel team cinched their spot in the B Cup last Saturday after a tough two-game battle with the Prince George Kodiaks.
Though the Quesnel team, with the help of the three local girls, had the edge in possession, both matches ended in draws — the morning 0-0 and the afternoon game 1-1. The winner then needed to be decided in a penalty kick shoot out. After six shots each, Quesnel came out with a 5-4 victory.
Gudbranson, Moore and Styran became part of the Quesnel team through a series of events starting last fall, when their Williams Lake team travelled to Quesnel for a series of exhibition games with Quesnel and Prince George in Quesnel’s indoor soccer facility.
During these meets coaches Beth Moore (Williams Lake), David Bladgon (Prince George) and Gilbert Schotel (Quesnel) decided to join forces and enter a Cariboo United team in the Kelowna Ice Breaker tournament in early April of this year, which resulted in the girls taking home gold.
Shortly after, when the Williams Lake girls learned that the Quesnel team would be unable to recruit enough players to form a team, they offered to join their new Quesnel friends.
“The Williams Lake girls have fit in very well, both in terms of skill and socially with our group. We are very pleased to have them on our team,” said Gilbert Schotel, Quesnel Youth Soccer technical director.
Beth added: “Even though travel to Quesnel twice a week is a bit of a chore at times, the positive way Quesnel has welcomed us has made it worth it. The girls love it.”
After finishing the Cariboo Youth Soccer League schedule (Williams Lake June 10 and 100 Mile House June 17) the girls will head to Kelowna July 5-8, where they will meet seven other teams from around the province to compete for the coveted Provincial Cup.
