Bombers score Bronze Medal at Best of the Best Tourney
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The L.V. Rogers Bombers needed shootout to capture the bronze medal at the Best of the Best High School Girl’s Soccer tournament hosted by GW Graham Secondary School this past weekend in Chilliwack.
Bomber keeper Hanna Quinn saved two of first four shots with another missing the net while shooters Farrah Marzicola, Grace Dehnel and Shianne Michalchuk scored sparking LVR to a 3-2 shootout victory over Valleyview from Kamloops in the bronze medal game Saturday.
“It was a fantastic first tournament for us,” said Bomber coach Paul Burkart.
“Our defence played very well, and we were able to score some goals – the goals were just a bit sporadic, but once we get outside I think the consistency will come – as will the fitness.”
“We also had three Grade 10s and two Grade nines on our team, and were probably the youngest team at the tournament,” he added. “But the junior girls played great, with every one of the girls contributing to our success.”
Although the Bombers controlled much of the play and had more scoring opportunities in the medal final, Valleyview were the first to score.
LVR tied the game when Marzicola set up Addis Atkinson early in the second half. Michalchuk then was able to break free and went in on net but was stopped by the Valleyview keeper.
However, Zondervan jumped on the rebound and scored the go-ahead goal. Valleyview tied the game late which forced two periods of overtime where nothing was decided, forcing a shootout.
The Bombers played their first match against Unity Christian from Chilliwack. The Bombers, started a bit slow against Unity but did end the first half with a 2-0 lead.
However, having not yet played on grass this season, the Bomber finally found their groove, scoring nine goals in the second half. The Unity girls scored a goal in the middle of the second half. The final score was 11-1. Goal scorers for the Bombers included: Marzicola and Shaen Panko-Dool with three each, Riley Zondervan and Michaela Anderson with two and Semegn Atkinson with one.
The second and third matches turned out to be much tougher for the Bombers. In their second game, the Bombers took on Kelowna Secondary School (KSS). Defences from both teams proved to be very stingy, not letting in a single goal, with the game ending in a 0-0 tie.
Coach Burkart said “KSS is a triple A school so are typically very strong. And they have already played 23 games on outside fields this season, and we had yet to even have a practice outside. So although at times, they controlled more of the play, we certainly held our own against a very good team.”
With the tie and a better goal differential in their game against Unity, the Bombers edged out KSS in their pool advancing to the semi-final against triple A powerhouse Sardis Secondary out of Chilliwack. Sardis just recently claimed top spot in the BC High School rankings and are now considered the best high school team in the province.
The Bombers were on their heels for much of the first half but were able to keep their opponents scoreless until scoring on a corner kick late in the half. In the second half, a Sardis striker broke free from the tough LVR back four and made her way around keeper Hanna Quinn for their second point. The game ended in a 2-0 win over the Bombers.
“This was an extremely talented and aggressive team who we were able to control much of the play,” Burkart said. “But our girls played their hearts out and were able to keep the game within reach right to the end.”
