Staff
On Monday, it was huge underdog Iceland eliminating mighty England at the Euro 2016 soccer tournament.
A day later, the Borderland Soccer League had its own monumental upset.
Jess Caul scored twice as Taggs dumped the previously-unbeaten La Place Rendez-Vous U18 Voyageurs 5-1 in women’s division play.
After having lost 10-1 to the Vous (7-1) just a week earlier, Taggs (2-6) stunned the league leaders by taking a 3-0 lead into halftime and then snuffing out any thoughts of a second-half comeback.
Ericka Tymkin opened the scoring after taking a drop pass from Caul on the left wing and ripping a 20-yard shot that arced over Voyageurs’ keeper Bryanna Dustin and in.
Dustin, who went home at halftime due to illness, then was intercepted by Alina Eldridge on a goal kick.
Eldridge made a quick move inside and cranked a blast to the lower right corner past a diving Dustin to make it 2-0.
The Vous, which beat Al’s the previous evening despite having only seven players, played most of the first half one short until Avery Wilson-Hands arrived to even things out shortly after Eldridge’s goal.
But that mattered little to Taggs, who added a third goal just moments before halftime when Caul used her chest to redirect Sara Roach’s booming entry pass into the 18-yard box past Dustin.
With Jenny Hammond taking over for Dustin to start the second half, the Vous found life in the 48th minute.
Abby Sanders pulled in a lead pass, shook off Eldridge with a solid bump, and walked in alone on Taggs’ keeper Jess Badiuk.
Sanders had her first shot blocked by Badiuk, but knocked the rebound home to cut the deficit to 3-1.
But Taggs tightened up on defence after that while restoring its three-goal lead when Caul reeled in a pass in front and fired a quick shot past Hammond from 10 yards out.
The Vous ran into bad luck later in the half as Sanders and league scoring leader Erin Tomalty both had shots go off the post.
Taggs rounded out the scoring late in the game when Caul stole the ball from Sarah Angus and then eluded Taylor Croswell before spotting Roach in the middle.
Roach blasted the subsequent pass from 30 yards to the top left corner beyond the grasp of a leaping Hammond.
In men’s division action Tuesday, International Travel Services moved into a tie for first place with a 1-0 shutout of last-place Pharmasave (2-5).
Lucas Koomans netted the lone goal against goalie Kamil Niemczyk of Pharmasave while Ben Whitburn earned the shutout.
But it was a different story last night as the male Voyageurs (5-2) easily won a first-place battle with ITS (4-4) by a 3-0 score.
James Gushulak, Kevin Metke, and Aaron Bujold all scored while Alex Gustafson got the win between the pipes.
In women’s play tonight at 7 p.m., Taggs will face Al’s Racquet Stringing (2-5) in a fight for second place.
Manitou Forest Products (3-4), meanwhile, will take on Pharmasave in men’s action.
