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
