Cowichan Cubs coach Marilyn Pugh felt her team was in a good position going into last Sunday’s Lower Island Women’s Soccer Association game against Castaways at Evans Park. Unfortunately, the team didn’t take advantage of it.
“The game was ours to lose, and that’s what we did,” Pugh said following the Cubs’ 3-1 loss. “The first half was quite messy and the marking-up was lacking, giving Castaways repeated shots at our poor goalie.”
If not for the terrific play of keeper Kerynne Bain, the score might have been a lot higher than it was, Pugh noted. The coach also commended Rachel Pugh for her hard work up front, putting pressure on the Castaways defence and trying to generate offence.
“Melaina Patenaude and Colleen Bob should also be recognized for their strength on the back line and shutting Castaways down as much as they could,” she added. “Karli Stevens worked hard the whole game in middle mid and didn’t even get to have a sub. The second half looked much better than the first; no further goals were scored against us.”
Seleana Jack scored the lone goal for the Cubs.
At 1-2-1, Pugh admits her rebuilding team hasn’t had a lot of success so far in the LIWSA Div. 1 season.
“We have only six returnees and the other 12 are all new to the team, and the majority of those have come up from playing youth,” she said. “A whole new learning curve for myself and them.”
Scoring star Nicole Pugh has also been sidelined since the second game of the fall with another knee injury.
“She is hoping to come back soon but we’ll have to wait and see,” coach Pugh said. “Needless to say, without her out there we are not generating a lot of offence. It will come.”
