Four Williams Lake Youth Soccer Association rep teams returned from Chilliwack with medals around their necks.
The Williams Lake Storm under-14 girls team and the Williams Lake Storm under-16 boys teams both marched away from the tournament with gold medals. The Williams Lake Storm under-17 girls team and the Williams Lake Storm under-11 girls teams both won silver medals.
The tournament took place Aug. 22-25 and comes on the heels of the Provincials 6 championships just weeks prior.
For the Williams Lake under-17 girls, they decided to play up a level from previous years in the tournament to challenge themselves to play harder.
The first match saw the Storm face a strong team from Surrey. And after a slow start that saw the Storm down two goals early, the team settled into a rhythm, holding the Surrey club off for the remainder of the game. Despite a strong defensive effort and multiple scoring opportunities the girls weren’t able to generate any offense, falling 2-0.
Next, the Storm faced one of the host teams from Chilliwack, coming together for a textbook display of skill and a 2-0 shutout victory. Sunday, the Storm met the other host team from Chilliwack, winning in a penalty shootout, 1-0.
In its fourth and final game Williams Lake faced an aggressive team from Squamish, coming out on top with a 2-1 win.
Delta went on to win the gold medal after an undefeated tournament.
On the under-16 boys side the Storm finished with a three win, one loss record. The team pulled together for 5-0, 3-2 and 3-0 wins to claim the gold medal.
In the final it came down to a shootout between Williams Lake and North Vancouver, with Williams Lake gutting out a 5-4 penalty kick win.
Coach Brian Hansen said he was thrilled with his team’s effort.
“The competition and intensity level of the games was high and the boys put every effort into the competition,” he said.
Meanwhile, the under-14 girls Storm went undefeated in the tourney, claiming the gold.
In the under-11 girls division the Storm lost its first game 2-1 to Chilliwack, then won its next two against Dallas and Squamish, before falling against gold-medal winner Surrey in its final game to bring home the silver medal.
The under-12 boys Storm defeated Squamish in a 2-1 shootout, then lost a tough 3-1 battle with Coquitlam, before falling 5-0 to Surrey. In their final bronze-medal match Williams Lake met Squamish, falling 7-1 and finishing in fourth place.
Also competing at the tournament were the Williams Lake under-12 boys, the Williams Lake under-12 girls, the Williams Lake under-11 boys and the Williams Lake under-10 girls.
