U13 Saints headed to provincials
By Contributor
The Kootenay South U13 girls select soccer team headed to Nelson on June 12 for a three-team round robin play down to determine the Kootenay Columbia provincial representative. The first sunny day in weeks seemed to be a sign of good things to come.
The Saints had their work cut out for them in game one ,as in six previous meetings they failed to score a single goal versus a well -groomed Nelson squad. Both teams traded very strong halves with solid goal keeping, great scoring opportunities and aggressive play but this time neither team was able to bulge the net, resulting in a 0-0 tie.
The U13 Selects from Cranbrook were touted as the team to beat coming in to the play downs but the Saints thought nothing of it during their second game of the day. Saints midfielder, Hayley Clemans-Gibbon, tallied the first goal of the game capitalizing on a penalty kick. After Cranbrook evened the game at one, Clemans-Gibbon tallied her second of the match with a solid strike to the top right corner. Cranbrook was able to come up with another tying goal but the Saints kept the pressure on until Kayla Verigin notched the winner off a corner kick. The Saints held on for a 3-2 victory.
Earning four out of a possible six points put the Saints in a great position to come out on top however the final game of the day between Nelson and Cranbrook would prove to be the deciding factor. With numerous tie breaking rules in effect, Nelson needed a simple 1-0 victory to eliminate the Saints from their provincial dream. With the entire Saints team, coaching staff and parents eagerly watching from the sidelines, Cranbrook managed to hold Nelson to a 0-0 tie thus crowning the Saints the Kootenay Columbia provincial representative.
The Saints will travel to Richmond July 8-11 to compete for the provincial title. The majority of the team has been together for three years with players coming from Fruitvale, Trail and Castlegar. The Saints roster consists of: Tabitha Ballendine, Hannah Bauman, Heidi Bauman, Bryar Campbell, Hayley Clemans-Gibbon, Robyn Flynn, Olivia Jorge, Jenna Kalmakoff, Rebekah Liszt, Maranda McCreight, Alicia Mitchell, Kirsten Renz, Anjela Szabo, Kayla Verigin and Abby Verigin.The coaching staff is Fernando Jorge, Glen Campbell, Curtis Verigin and Kim Verigin.
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