The Cariboo-North East girls soccer team came fifth at the BC Summer Games while the boys team finished in eighth place.
Jim Nicholas, the Cariboo-North East representative for soccer at the BC Games, says, “the games provided an excellent oppotunity for competition that isn’t typically available [in Quesnel].”
The girls team, wich was coached by Joanne Wankling of Prince George, lost their first game against the Thompson-Okanagan 1-0.
In their second game, the team played the Vancouver Island-Central Coast team and lost 4-1, with their only goal scored off an assist by Quesnel local Reese Jacobsen. Another Quesnel girl, Ruby Nicholas scored the goal.
The Cariboo-North East team had a bye for their next game, as the North West didn’t enter a team in the tournament.
It wasn’t until the game for fifth place that things really came down to the wire. The Cariboo North East girls faced off against Vancouver-Coastal. The game was tied 1-1; with an assist from Ruby Nicholas, Payton Holyk of Prince George scored the goal.
Quesnel’s Jacobsen came close to ending the tie when her shot on net hit the crossbar, but it wasn’t enough.
They started penalty kicks, pulling off a win with four goals. Olivia Martins, from Quesnel, Ruby Nicholas, Brooke Levens, and Emma Moscrip kicked the winning goals, with outstanding performances from both Quesnel’s Tory Anderson and Brityn Hinsche in goal throughout the tournament.
The boys, coached by Brad Stewart from Prince George, lost their first game against Fraser River 4-1, with Winter Comeau, of Quesnel, scoring a real screamer right before the game ended.
The won their second game against the Kootenays 2-0, with an early goal from Euan Murray, and a 40-yard goal from Tanner Bolton of Quesnel.
The third game was the most important to the team; winning it would guarantee they’d make it to a medal game. Unfortunately, their medal dreams were dashed with a 4-0 loss to Vancouver-Coastal.
In the end, the Cariboo-North East boys team lost their final game 3-1 against the North West team.
Both teams worked hard at the BC Games. Jim Nicholas says: “Both teams showed us that they can be competitive at a very high level, and the overall quality of soccer in the games is very high.”
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