Games kicked into high gear for the Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO) girls’ soccer team recently, with two exhibition games and a tournament played during the same week.
PSO took on the Brakers ladies team mid-month as the first game of the season, and then followed up on April 19 with a home match against Williams Lake Secondary School (WLSS).
The resulting 4-0 loss to WLSS was considered a learning experience and did little to rattle their confidence for what lay ahead, according to teacher sponsor Amanda Robinson.
“It was a good experience for them to see what had to be worked on. They saw that they had to be more aggressive and be first to the ball.”
The team had one day to put things into perspective before heading off to Summerland for a 17-team secondary school tournament.
They got off to a rough start with Osoyoos by letting in three early goals early. PSO learned from their mistakes, however, and was able to keep the opposition out of their net for the remainder of the match.
A scoreless draw after regulation time with Prince George in game 2 took the teams into a shoot-out where PSO claimed victory with three goals to just one by Prince George. Romy De Kok, Brittanie Ney and German exchange student Sinja Kruze were responsible for the PSO markers.
W.J. Mouat Secondary School from Abbotsford, gave PSO a run for its money in game 3, leaving the local girls in the dust with a 5-0 shutout loss.
In the next game, Summerland ran away to a 4-0 shutout victory.
Despite the results, Robinson says her girls had a great team experience and their lone victory of the tournament generated enough excitement to satisfy them.
“They had a lot of fun and it was a real pleasure for their coaches (Keith Robinson and Rick Takagi) to watch them improve and do so well. The whole sporting event experience is so great for the health and happiness of the girls.”
Amanda, a student teacher at PSO, finishes her work experience at the school this week and says that being connected with the squad has been a great experience for her.
“It’s been a pleasure to be a part of the team and to see the improvement and enthusiasm among the girls.”
PSO is scheduled to play in the zone tournament later in the season and will prepare with a number of exhibition games with the Brakers and WLSS.
