Women's Soccer
November 2, 2011
2011 Soccer Season Comes to a Close in Kelowna
METRO VANCOUVER, BC – (November 1, 2011) – The Kwantlen Polytechnic University women’s soccer team travelled to Kelowna to defend their title as the PACWEST Provincial Soccer champions. Unfortunately the Eagles fell 1-0 to the host UBC Okanagan Heat in the semi-finals, and finished the tournament in 4th place.
Friday’s quarterfinal match up against the Vancouver Island University Mariners was the opening match of the 2011 championships. The Eagles came out with desire and determination in the opening half, but were unable to crack the Mariners defense. The game remained scoreless until first year midfielder Kathleen Ehman (Langley) scored off of a well struck free kick that caught the VIU goalkeeper off her line. Just minutes later second year forward Kathleen Gratz (Surrey) followed suit by depositing a shot just past the near post to open a 2-0 lead. First-year forward Chelsey Lal (Delta) finished the scoring for the Eagles with a first class goal in which she evaded two defenders before burying a shot low and to the far post. The 3-0 victory for the Eagles advanced them to the semi-finals for a match up against UBC Okanagan Heat.
The first half of the semi-finals against the Heat was a defensive battle with very few chances for either side. Eagle’s second year goalkeeper Melina Gomez showed excellent perseverance by staying in the match after being accidentally kicked in the mouth following a save at the top of the box. The second half saw UBC-O capitalize off of a rebound from a free kick that was headed into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. The Eagles came out flying in the final 15 minutes of the match putting all kinds of pressure on the UBC-0 backend, but could not manage to score. The 1-0 loss to the Heat ended the Eagles chances at winning their third consecutive PACWEST title and saw them relegated to the bronze medal match against the Langara Falcons.
The bronze medal match against the Langara Falcons did not go the way the Eagles had intended. Opting for a more attacking formation to start the game, the Eagles could not capitalize on their early chances and ended up conceding three goals before the end of the first half which they could not recover from. The 3-0 loss gave the Eagles a 4th place finish.
Eagles Head Coach Gordon Smith was disappointed with the results of the matches this past weekend, but not with the resolve that his team showed throughout the tournament. He left Kelowna optimistic about the 2012 season for the Eagles.
This season had a lot of positives for the Eagles. Third-year forward Shanay Sangha (Richmond) was named the PACWEST Player of the Year and 1st Team All-star and fourth-year defender Brittany McNeill and Yvamara Rodriguez both took home 2nd Team All-star honours.
Congratulations to all of the Eagles players and coaching staff. We look forward to another exciting season in 2012.
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