The Peter Skene Ogden Eagles pulled off a monumental upset at the North Central AA Senior Girls’ Zone Soccer Championships on May 15-16.
The Eagles played hosts to the four-team event at the 100 Mile House Soccer Association (OMHSA) soccer fields and defeated the top seeded DP Todd Trojans of Prince George 1-0 on Sunday, which propelled them to an eventual bronze-medal finish.
Ashley Holyk scored the winning goal from a corner kick, while goalkeeper Chantelle Walters made some key saves to earn the shutout in goal, says coach Sean Glanville.
“For us to win against DP Todd, we needed every player to play their absolute best game and needed some luck and that’s what happened. When the final whistle blew, it was pretty exciting for the girls.”
This season marked a massive improvement from last year’s zones when the Eagles lost all three of their games, including a 10-0 pummeling to College Heights, he adds.
“To go from last year where we had to ask the ref to cut the game short out of mercy for us, to defeating the tournaments number 1 seed really validates the strides our team has made over this past year.
“The tough games we played in Victoria earlier this month really helped prepare us and we saved our best soccer of the year for when it mattered.”
The Eagles dropped their opening game to eventual champions Duchess Park of Prince George 3-0.
After defeating DP Todd the Eagles earned a 1-1 draw with Nechako Valley of Vanderhoof on Monday to finish the tournament with a 1-1-1 win-loss-draw record.
The Eagles had numerous scoring chances and hit posts and crossbars on several occasions but couldn’t pull out a win which would have earned them a silver medal. Charlie McQueen scored the Eagles’ lone goal in the contest.
The Eagles finished with an identical 1-1-1 record as DP Todd, but dropped down to bronze based on goals for and against differential.
Duchess Park finished undefeated with a 2-0-1 record after coming back late in the game to draw DP Todd 2-2 to clinch the title.
The Eagles back-line – consisting of Karlie Easton, Anja Dunk, Rachel Cross and Ali Walker – was absolutely superb all weekend and their speed and aggression was critical to the Eagles’ success. Glanville explains.
Easton was named the tournament’s Top Defender.
The entire Eagles’ team deserves plenty of credit and standouts included Maddy Martin, Kailey Lund, and Chilly Mellott who ran miles throughout the weekend in midfield, Glanville says.
Mellott was in consideration for Top Midfielder award with her incredible work rate throughout the tournament, he adds.
“Things are looking very bright for the young Eagles who didn’t boast a single graduating player on their roster and will have everyone returning next year.
“PSO is also offering a dedicated PE Soccer program at the school in which many of the players will be able to hone their skills on a daily basis.
“I feel we’re finally at the stage where the girls are confident and believe they can go get results. We don’t go into games thinking about keeping the score respectable, but actually feel we can win.”
Glanville says the three out-of-town teams were very impressed with the great soccer facility in 100 Mile House and the fields received plenty of high praise.
“The president of north central athletics from Prince George, Louise Holmes, was in town for the championships and was very complimentary of the venue, and I had coaches and parents comment on how hard our girls worked and their sportsmanship, which was nice to hear.”
