The Kootenay’s best 16,17 & 18Yr old soccer players were up against the best in the province again this past Easter weekend. The Soccer Quest Regional Girls program were pitted in the top flight against Burnaby Mountain FC, Vancouver Island and Total Soccer Systems, three of the top HPL and academy programs in the country. The event had teams tiered and the Kootenay girls were tiered in the top group, a compliment to the success of the S/Q program.
Although a depleted squad through injuries sustained two weeks ago to Samantha Eirnerson (broken leg) and Hailey MaClean (torn Achilles) the girls put on a spirited show. Up against Burnaby Mountain FC U18’s from the BCHPL the S/Q girls started brightly and were unfortunate to go in 1-0 down at half time. Mountain FC scoring scoring right on the half time whistle. The S/Q girls had their best spell of possession after the break but could not break down a resolute Mountain FC defense and as happened 2 weeks ago in the Whitecaps showcase ran out of gas and ended up losing the game 3-0.
The second game saw a very good Total Soccer Systems U18 girls team dominate from start to finish and they walked away with a 5-0 victory, this was clearly the worst performance of the S/Q squad since its inception two years ago. Lack of fitness and players playing out of position were the deciding factors in this one.
The S/Q girls showed up for the third game with a different mindset against Vancouver Island U18’s and should have easily come in at the half two or three goals in front, the Island keeper making some great saves to keep the opposition in the game. The final result was 0-0 but the S/Q academy should easily have won this on. Missed chances being the difference in front of goal by the Kootenay girls.
The final game against Total Soccer Systems U17 squad was a close game until the last 15 minutes when again missed chances by the S/Q squad and the taking care of their few chances by the Total Soccer team ended in a 3-0 loss for the S/Q girls.
On the whole a great weekend for the S/Q girls with even more girls being spoken to by coaches from three university’s making inquiries about the Kootenay players. This is the last event for this year’s crop of the best players in the Kootenays and the success of the program is evident by the number of girls who have or will be accepting university scholarships over the next few weeks. Head Coach and S/Q owner Dave Spendlove estimates there will be around 7-8 offers made to the S/Q girls in the near future. This girls in the program are from the BC Interior and the Kootenays.
Try-outs for next year’s boys and girls program will resume in June of this year for Boys and Girls 15-17 yrs old. Go to www.soccerquest.ca for more information on these upcoming programs.