2014 CMSA WINTER CLASSIC CHAMPIONS

This last weekend our team competed in the CMSA Winter Classic Tournament.   It was a fantastic tournament and I'm very happy to announce that we are this years U16 Girls Tier 2 Champions!

Several months ago the girls were practically begging for a road trip tournament and the Winter Classic was a nice change from the Polar Cup we attended for the past seven years. Everything about Winter Classic was truly awesome.  The Teams we competed against were strong and we had to work hard for each and every win.  The refs were very good and the respect we earned from the other teams was very apparent after each game.

Here is a breakdown of the weekend's games:

SELECTS FC VS BLIZZARD
Our first game was against the Blizzard.   The start of the game was a little shaky as the other team got 2 quick goals against us.  In true fashion to our team we battled back the rest of the game to shutdown any more scoring from the Blizzard and put three into the back of their net.  We probably played at about 70% capacity that night but hey that's soccer. Most of the girls came in that day on super icy roads.  It was a game to shake off the cobwebs and get ready for the two games the next day. The game was fast, challenging and definitely exciting.  Even when we played a little below our A game the girls still come out to win with poise and style.
FINAL SCORE 3-2


SELECTS FC VS SWU SOL
Our second game was a ringer!  We ended up playing in the smaller North field of the Subway Center.  Right from the get go we were on SWU like nobody's business.  By the half the score was tied and then that was the last we would allow SWU to score as we really turned on the heat.  Jessy scored a ROCKET GOAL from the third line and the rest was history followed by more goals.  It was a super fast and furious game that we controlled for a good 80% of the time.    We even over heard one of the girls on that team tell her coach that "We were just too good!"   Now that's a compliment!
FINAL SCORE 6-2
'After the medal presentations the coaches of this team made a point to come and congratulate us coaches.  This was a team that was not used to losing. They showed excellent sportsmanship to approach us after.  Thank you for the congrats SWU!'


SELECTS FC VS FORT MCMURRAY
In this game I thought the other coach was going to get ejected from the game.  It was a CRAZY game that we really dominated with VERY FAST and AGGRESSIVE PLAY. We spent the majority of the game on the attack. It was a game where the calls were really going our way and the other coach was getting pretty frustrated. I totally understand how he felt as I have felt that in other games too.  We lead the game the whole time and it was a great lead up to the GOLD MEDAL GAME!
FINAL SCORE 4-2

At this point I have to point out that the girls scoring MANY of the goals in these games were not the usual ones.  Many more of the forwards and our defenders were racking up the points.  This is a great development in the team as our depth of scoring is increasing each week.  Way to go girls, keep it up!


GOLD MEDAL GAME:  SELECTS FC VS CWSC
As with all the games before we had no idea what this game was going to be like.  The CWSC team in the other pool cleaned house pretty bad.  They really trounced the other teams in their pool but we knew from our pre-tourney research they were LOWER in the CMSA playoff standings in Calgary than the other two teams we already beat.  We knew that we would compete but how would it really go?

The game itself was the hardest hitting game in the entire tournament.  Both teams wanted it bad and it was truly a battle.  The scoring opened up late in the first with a goal for us and stayed that way for a while.  Then we got a Red Card against one of our players. Ack... now we have two defenders out, one with an injury and the other with a Red Card.  We are down to 4 defense and they were getting tired quickly.  Both teams were going back and forth with drives and shots.  It took some very hard work but the girls held the other team back during the 5 min penalty and then late in the second we score our second goal.  WOW!  Then as luck would have it the other team scored..... Its 2-1 for us and less than 2 min left.  With alot of quick shifts and specific play style we hold off CWSC to win the game! A truly great way to end a fantastic tournament.
FINAL SCORE 2-1

So here are the CWSA Winter Classic  U16 Girls Champs.  WAY TO GO GIRLS, YOU EARNED IT!

It really was an incredible tournament.  Earlier in the blog I had mentioned how this team is the strongest and best team we have ever had.  This fact showed throughout the weekend with the way the entire team gets along and supports each other.  This team is going up and up all the time. I know each season is going to yield even more great times and memories in the months to come.

And finally a note to about the parents; Our parents were fantastic and it was apparent how much everyone enjoyed spending time getting to know each other better at dinner, the games and of course visiting in the evenings. I would also like to thank everyone for being so supportive in our vision for the team.  This support shows when we go into a tournament like this, play in a Tier higher and win it all with class.  Our girls are a true class act and I can't wait until we get to do it all over again!

Coach Preston

SPRUCE GROVE HELD BACK AGAIN!!

Last nights game was in a word FANTASTIC!!   This was the second time we met up with the Saints in the regular season and this one counted for points.  The last time we met up with Spruce Grove we SHOCKED them with a brutal 6-0 win.   This was a stunner for sure as this team was made up of the best 98 and 99 girls in the zone.

This time around we knew that they wanted some payback for that loss.  What team wouldn't?  That's part of competitive sport and any team that was beat badly in a previous meeting would want to win and show the oppponent a thing or two.

As fate would have it though last night this would not be the fact.  Our girls came to the game with a determination and desire to win after the last couple games. They showed our opponents that we mean business and ARE NOT a one time fluke with another crushing victory of 5-2!

So far this season Spruce Grove sits at the top of the pool and we are the ONLY team in the league as of this writing to beat this team.   I've said it before, our team is only a few months into U16 for the first time and we are showing the older teams a thing or two, being competitive and WINNING games.

It just goes to show that when our team brings their A game anything is possible.  This was also with 5 GIRLS out of the line up due to injuries and sickness.  WAY TO GO TEAM! Currently we are sitting in second place in the entire Tier 2/3 division.  An AWESOME achievement for the youngest team in the division.

Next up is the CMSA Winter Classic.  We are looking forward to playing some hard teams in this tournament to help bring our game to new levels of excellence.

STORM GAME LAST NIGHT - A Tie it is!

Last night we played against the STORM and some of our old teammates.  Games like these are usually pretty interesting but this game was just a normal game.  The girls were fired up to play as usual but as a team we probably played at about 70% of our best.

We had many girls that were tired from All Day Ski Trips and of course Jayden and Kaela were out due to concussions.   These facts affected our game and our forward lines were not the norm for sure.

Still even though we didn't show the best the game was tied 3-3.  The Storm tried really hard to win the game but in the end a TIE is a good turnout for everyone.   Next time should be different once we are back to full strength and our normal powerhouse play.

Good job to the girls for the tie.  Next week its Spruce Grove again!

2013 EMSA / MWSA Outstanding Volunteer Award

I'm very pleased to announce that I have been awarded the EMSA / MWSA Outstanding Volunteer Award this year.

The honour was awarded to me last night for the many areas of organization and media management improvement I've done with the MWSA and Selects FC over the past 2.5 years.

It also recognizes my role as the creator of the U8 MWSA Junior League Academy Soccer program. This academy program was a the first of its kind at the U8 age group in Edmonton. Each season helps to prepare youngsters for the start of competitive U10 soccer.

Thank you to everyone for awarding me this honour and for the continued support that the organization, parents and of course my team show me season after season. 

Sincerely,

Coach Preston

Selects FC VS Selects FC - and the Selects Win!!

Tonight was our first game with the 1998 Selects FC team and what a game it was.  It was truly a sight to behold as both teams played an AMAZING game.  

This game was truly one of the harder games we have played since Provincials in August.  It was a hard hitting and fast paced game that all of us coaches, parents and players can very very proud of.

Over the past few weeks the girls game has been changing and improving where our team is truly becoming a play making style of team. This showed up in a big way tonight with some truly great soccer.

The working together certainly shows in our game statistics. We keep stats of each game and I want to share some of the progress we are having. For example, in the last three games our Shots / Shots on Goal average was 30-33 shots per game.   The Shots tonight were a staggering 53 against one of the top level teams in our pool!!   This is important because these shots were gained through moving the ball properly as a team and not just dump in the corners and chase it in. As we continue to work on our shot finishing we will only see this number stay high and goals per shots continue to increase throughout the season.

On the other side of the coin the other team only managed 21 shots against us.  Considering that this team has some of the best strikers in our league and older aggressive players this continues to show how far our defense and goal-tending has changed and grown.

Even though we lost the game 5-4 it was truly anyone's game.  Even the other team and many of the Selects FC coaches in the stands watching us agreed.   Many people commented on how it was one of the more entertaining and nail biting games they have seen in a long time.  We are so very proud of the girls and excited to where this team is headed.  In our books the score was irrelevant as our game play was the true winner tonight.

Great work girls!

Team Scary Movie Night

Last night was a our first seasonal team Scary Movie Night and it was a blast.  Nineteen of the girls showed up for some scary thrills, great snacks and good company.   This team understands the concept of soccer sisters; they word hard, support each other and love spending time together.


The girls got spooked out by Poltergeist and then had some great laughs from Evil Dead 2 and Vampires Suck.

Marianne will remember the night for a long time when she got scared out of her wits from a Barbie Hair Styling Head...... who knew that Barbie was so scary!!  LOL!   :)

Raiders Attack Held Back

Tonight we played our second game of the season against the Raiders.  The first time we saw them it was an aggressive game which we won 3-0.  Our game play last time was good last time but tonight the girls play making was truly exceptional.

We controlled the game hands down right from the whistle.  Defending was spot on, our forwards attack was killer with some SWEET goals including Kya's first goal on the team (and an awesome assist from Dori!).  Brit, Kaela and Jessica rounded out our goal scoring including a WICKED goal 15 seconds into the second half!  WOW!

Brynn's goal-tending was the best we have ever seen, she was truly a Net Ninja tonight and the star of the game.

The team almost got another shutout but the Raiders scored with 5 seconds left.   Our game is changing so much its exciting to see the progression.  Way to go girls on another excellent 5-1 win!