The Southridge Storm senior girls soccer team are the second-best team in B.C., after making it all the way to the finals of single-A provincials last week on their home turf.
The Storm – who went into the tournament as the host seed, after finishing second at Fraser Valleys – were edged in the provincial final 2-1 in extra time by Vernon’s Immaculata Spartans.
Southridge head coach Gordon Smith was impressed with his team’s performance, but admitted it still stings to lose in the manner in which they did.
“It was a really good result, for sure, but the closer you come to winning, the harder it is to take,” he said. “But Immaculata are two-time defending champions, and they’ve got a lot Grade 11 and 12 players, so for us to hold them off the scoresheet for as long as we did was pretty remarkable.”
The Storm – who boast a young roster full of Grade 8 and 9s, especially on defence and in goal – took an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Hannah Morrison, but the Vernon squad stormed back to tie the game in the second half.
The game then went to two seven-and-a-half minute extra-time halves, and Immaculata scored in the second frame to earn the win.
“That second half, we were running on fumes a little bit. We tried to hold on, but we couldn’t,” Smith said. “But it was still a really good performance.”
In semifinals, the Storm defeated Victoria’s Glenlyon Norfolk School 2-0; Southridge earned an automatic spot in semifinals after finishing first in their division in pool play. During the pool games, Southridge defeated Fort St. John and Osoyoos Thursday before tying Whistler Friday.
