Mitch Calvert
The Borderland Soccer Association is approaching the midway point of its men’s and women’s seasons—with the title favourites still very much in doubt.
New rules limiting teams from stacking up their respective lineups has led to increased parity in both divisions so far.
On the three-team women’s side, Gillons’, which captured last year’s league title with a 5-1 win over Taggs after an undefeated (14-0-1) regular season, is still out in front but has seen a big challenge from Taggs, including a season-opening 3-1 loss to their rivals in early June.
“We have a lot of competition between us and Taggs,” Gillons’ striker Sarah Gould said after her team’s 4-2 win over Taggs last Thursday.
“Everyone has stepped up their game and there’s actually lots of good ball being played, so it’s nice,” she added.
Taggs actually jumped out to an early lead in the match, but the momentum changed in the second half.
“The wind was a huge factor,” insisted Gillons’ keeper Amy Wilson-Hands. “We were against the wind in the first half and we couldn’t get it out of our end, but it was with us in the second half.”
“We got a lucky goal at the very end there,” echoed Gould. “They were pushing for a goal trying to tie it up and we caught them up.”
Gillons’ sported a 6-1 record heading into last night’s re-match with Taggs, with Taggs next at 5-3.
Curves brings up the rear at 1-8 so far, but recently earned their first win with a 3-2 victory over Taggs on July 7 thanks to a hat-trick from Natalie Desjardins.
Gillons’ has flourished so far thanks to some youngsters who have stepped up their games.
“Jillian Kellar, playing right half-back, has been phenomenal for our team this year,” Wilson-Hands lauded. “Jessica Caul, who’s only in Grade 8, is stepping up and getting aggressive.”
“Ally Brown, who played with us last year, is young and fast with good ball skills,” Gould added.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, two-time defending champion Domino’s continues to lead the five-team pack but has seen significant challenges from three squads below them.
Domino’s is 6-2-2 heading into a match with the under-18 Rendez-Vous Voyageurs (1-7-3) tonight, but is followed closely by Pharmasave (5-3-4), Emo (5-5-1) and International Travel Services (4-4-2).
Pharmasave, which won the league crown in 2006, lost in a 1-0 heart-breaker to Domino’s in last year’s title match.
The veteran-laden squad survived a scare from Emo last Thursday in a 2-1 win.
Pharmasave always has fielded one of the older rosters in the league, but has sprinkled in some youngsters this season, including high school student Andre Valenzuela.
“I was going for the under-18 team, but I guess I was too old,” Valenzuela laughed. “I like a winning team so it’s been good.
“At first I was kind of shy, but after a while I got in the groove with them,” Valenzuela admitted of joining the older team.
“Rick Chambers and Brendan Hyatt work with the defence a lot, so I’ve learned a lot from them and know a lot more than I used to,” he added.
Pharmasave benefits from the strong offensive prowess of Olaf Ruppenstein, who helped Shane Beckett coach the Muskie boys’ soccer team this past spring.
“Whenever he [Ruppenstein] gets the ball, he always is open for a shot and gets a lot of chances,” Valenzuela noted.
