Third place for Prince Rupert women at Davis Cup

The PRFC women’s soccer team came up just short in their quest for a fourth tournament title on the year, falling in the semi-final of the Davis Cup to the rival Terrace Providers.

The two sides are no strangers after a series of high stakes showdowns this year, including a PRFC defeat of the Providers in the final of the Haisla Annual Soccer Tournament in July to capture their third straight championship of the year.

Drawn against each other in the opening round on Saturday, the host side grabbed a 2-0 lead early before PRFC managed to cut the deficit in half before halftime. The Rupert side managed to tie the game up after the break, but would ultimately be downed in the shootout.

This meant PRFC would have to traverse through the Loser’s Bracket — the second chance to make the final offered to teams who suffer one loss. This was hardly a new experience for them though, as they had followed this path to victory in the Haisla tournament.

(Jenna Cocullo / The Northern View)

Nisga’a United was the next opponent on Saturday afternoon. Brittanne O’Connor led the way offensively in the game at École Mountainview field in Terrace, as PRFC jumped out to an early lead and put things well out of reach in the second half with a barrage of goals at the north end of the field to post a 10-0 victory.

The momentum from the big win kept the team rolling on Sunday as PRFC easily dispatched the Skeena Mist 5-0. Up next was a showdown with the Kitwanga Wildcats, a game that PRFC led 1-0 into the dying minutes. After a dramatic last minute goal to tie things however, the game was sent into a shootout. This time the Rupert side would prevail from the penalty spot to send them into the semi-final, and another matchup with the Providers.

The rematch stayed scoreless into halftime, but shortly after the restart Terrace took advantage of some defensive lapses to score a quick two goals. It proved to be enough as they headed off to the final, with PRFC forced to settle for third place.

(Jenna Cocullo / The Northern View)

The Providers would go on to defeat fellow host side Terrace Triton in the final to claim the Davis Cup title. This will be the first tournament PRFC has not won this year, having already taken victories in Kitwanga, the Seafest tournament and the Haisla tournament in Kitimat.

“I think we played really well under the circumstances,” Jessica Lindstrom of PRFC, said. “We had a really small roster, we only played with 14 on Saturday and 15 on Sunday,” she explained.

This was in stark contrast to their Terrace opponents, who brought in several players from out of town for the tournament. “We wouldn’t do that,” Lindstrom said.

Alex Kurial | Sports Reporter

Alex Kurial