The Ladysmith Girls Senior 49ers soccer team placed ninth in the Provincials, June 2 to 4, in Campbell River
Although they didn’t get as high up in the rankings as they would have liked, Coach Kathleen Nicholls said they played well.
“It was a great experience for the girls and gives them the confidence that they can hang with the top teams in the province,” she said.
In round Robin play they lost their first match to Seycove Secondary school 1-0 on a contentious goal.
Game two ended in a 3-3 draw with LV Rogers Secondary from Nelson, the team that went on to win the tournament.
Their last round Robin play was against Burnsview out of North Delta, a game Ladysmith won 4-0.
For the first playoff game on Friday LSS fielded a shortened bench because their graduating players had to drive home for the school’s commencement ceremony.
But the girls dug deep and came away with a 1-0 win over Vancouver’s West Point Grey.
Based on the results from round robin play to that point, the best the team could have placed was ninth. They took on MEI from Abbotsford in their final game, the grads back in the lineup after a 5:30 a.m. drive from Ladysmith.
The team wanted to prove that they not only belonged at this tournament, but had deserved a higher finish, so they went out and took control from the start, ending the tourney with a 5-0 win.
“The girls are already looking forward to next year,” Nicholls said.
