Chilliwack’s Pacific Coast Soccer League girls dropped a pair of games in the Okanagan last weekend, falling prey to injuries and fatigue.
CFC took on Penticton SC Saturday at King’s Park, taking a 3-1 loss.
“We were down 1-0 at the half, but we were pretty much equal with them,” said CFC coach Glenn Wilson.
Brittany Roberts tied the game early in the second half with a 25-yard shot that caught the Penticton keeper out of position.
The ball bounced off the cross bar and in.
After that, fatigue started to set in.
Chilliwack was missing ace defender Adelle Gaudette, a player with a knack for making goal-saving plays.
They were also missing midfielder/striker Carmet Devette.
Both were out with injuries.
Striker Kate Smith was playing hurt, but Wilson was limiting her minutes. When she played, she was a shadow of her normal self.
“Then we have a lot of high schoolers on our roster who were playing their fourth or fifth games of the week, and fatigue started to set in after we tied the game up,” Wilson said. “Penticton scored in the 76th minute and added another soon after, and that was that.”
The situation wasn’t any better Sunday as Chilliwack took on Kelowna United.
Gaudette and Devette still out.
Smith still hobbled.
Players still tired.
“We knew it was going to be tough heading into Sunday’s game, but the plan was to give it everything they had for 90 minutes and see if they could scrap something out of it,” Wilson said.
Late in the first half, with the game still scoreless, the feeling was that if they could just get to the break and recharge the batteries they’d have a chance.
But on the very last play of the half, Kelowna scored on a corner kick.
“That goal knocked the stuffing out of us,” Wilson said.
The locals collected themselves at the break and dominated the second half.
But they couldn’t put anything past the Kelowna keeper.
“If the game had gone an extra five minutes…” Wilson lamented.
The coach had lots of time to think on the long bus ride home. Though his team is now 0-3 in early-season play, he isn’t discouraged.
“We’ve got a lot of new faces and we’re a much younger group this year, but when we’ve got fresh legs we’re equal to teams like Penticton and Kelowna,” he said. “So I do like our chances going forward. We’ve got just under two weeks now before our next game to heal and get everyone back. I think we’ll start to kick on then.”
That next game is May 25 as Chilliwack hosts the Fraser Valley Action.
Game time will be 2 p.m. at Townsend Park.
— Chilliwack’s PCSL men’s team made the same Okanagan road trip, and had mixed results.
The team lost 4-1 to Penticton on Saturday and beat Kelowna 3-1 Sunday.
