The soccer season ended on a good note for the Clearwater Secondary School girls’ team. We had a young team with many Grade 8 players this year. Without such a good turnout from the Grad 8 girls, we would not have been able to field a team this season. Throughout the season and in the playoffs, we played against teams that were much older, bigger and more experienced. Our team improved with every game and when they needed to win to advance to the zones, they beat Logan Lake with an excellent performance and won 5 - 0.
We then went to Kelowna to play in the zones and the team put on a very good performance. The Kamloops/Kelowna zone produces some of the best soccer teams in B.C. and many of these teams go on to win or place high in the provincials. Our team got to play against some of the best teams in B.C. and did very well indeed. In the zones, we won one game and lost three, but all the games were close and competitive.
I want to thank the players on the team for such a determined performance in Kelowna. They hustled for every ball and challenged all the time. Never once did they slack off and they left the field with their heads held high, knowing that they had tried their hardest. The team had fun, played hard, were good sports, listened well and did what was asked of them. As a coach, I could not ask anything more than that. If this group of girls stays together as a team, Clearwater Secondary School girls soccer has a bright future. A special thanks goes to Clara Shipp who was the assistant coach and a fantastic help in both the practices and the games. Our season would not have been the same without her.
The highlight of the year was a shoot-out win against Kings Christian School from Salmon Arm. It was an exciting game, end-to-end with lots of chances. Regulation time ended in a 1 - 1 draw; Kiera Stel got our lone goal. We then played 10 minutes of overtime and the score stayed the same. In the playoffs, these games are settled with a shootout with five players from each team getting a penalty kick. On penalty kicks, a goal is scored around 80 per cent of the time. Not against our team. Our goalkeeper, Robyn Kreke played very well thoughout the season and kept all three penalty shots out of our net. Our shooters, Reid Rebinsky, Cassie Brown and Alex Brown, buried their shots like professionals and the game was won. It was a fun and exciting game.
I would like to mention all of the girls that played this year, and they played hard. Goal - Robyn Kreke. Defense - Cassie Brown, Megan Sim, Jessica Patterson, Kiana Burke, Kate Blackmore, Sara Dohms. Midfield - Reid Rebinsky, Kiera Stel, May Vandenborre, Carly Christian Forwards - Alex Brown, Ryleigh Symonds, Lilly Mclellan, Adrian Romeo, Keisha Johnson, Riikka Iivanainen and Jenna Zietsov. We will lose some good players next year as some graduate and others move on to another school. Hopefully we will pick up some good athletes who want to play hard, have fun and win a few games and keep the soccer team getting better as the years go on.