The senior girls soccer team defeated Windsor 4-1 yesterday to advance to the final of the Vancouver Sea To Sky Zone Championship. With this win, the Cavs also booked their ticket to the BC AA Championships for the third straight time. This is a fantastic accomplishment. Here is Coach Huis in't Veld's game report:
Under the torrential downpour that has plagued the Northshore over these last few weeks, the Collingwood senior girls soccer team accomplished a major goal by beating Windsor to qualify for the BC Provincials tournament in June. It was a gutsy effort against an aggressive opponent who pressed more effectively than any opponent the girls have faced to date. It was a tight-checking game and there was very little space afforded to anyone.
The game finally broke open at the end of the first half when Jess Gardner put a pinpoint free-kick over the back of the Windsor defense where Katie Connell managed to chip the ball past the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. As the rain began to intensify in the second half, Windsor managed to reclaim the draw by leveling the score 1-0 on a back post pass deposited in the top corner.
Rather than feel dejected, the next kickoff saw the girls immediately head up the field to win themselves a corner, Jules Bugeja swung a beautiful corner into the box and Jess Gardener managed to get a head on it and place it into the top corner to reclaim the lead. The girls never looked back and they managed to capitalize on another corner when Jess Gardener swung one in from the left and Katie Connell got a head to it to score her second of the game. Katie would add a third to complete her hat-trick when she took on the Windsor full-back one on one and beat her before using her left foot to put the game away for good.
The Cavs were aided by a very strong performance by their three fullbacks, particularly Rio Donovan who owned the middle of the pitch and made life difficult for the Windsor strikers. Jess Gardner carried the play offensively for the Cavs and was involved in all four goals. Allie Lawlor played exceptionally in goal and deserves a lot of credit for helping keep the game tight in the first half. Collingwood moves on to play Nore Dame on Tuesday at Empire Field to determine seeding for the Provincials.
Jess Gardner played a role in all four Collingwood goals yesterday.