Joey Payeur
At the final whistle, the fresh-faced youngsters look like they were ready for another 90 minutes of play.
Their defeated elders looked ready for a long stretch of rest and rehabilitation.
Youth and superior roster numbers prevailed as the La Place Rendez-Vous Voyageurs U18 squad blanked Boston Pizza 4-0 in the gold-medal game for the women’s division of the Borderland Soccer League last Thursday evening at the Struchan Gilson pitches.
“I was just worried the game was going to be forfeited [due to Boston Pizza’s lack of players],” said Voyageurs’ striker Maryam Seid, who played a huge role in the win with a pair of goals while assisting on the other two markers.
“You want to have the opportunity to play in a championship game,” she reasoned.
The more experienced Boston Pizza squad spent the whole game shorthanded by at least one and, for stretches, two players.
Key regulars Colleen Hogan (knee), who was named the division’s MVP in an awards ceremony after the game, and Jessica Wilson (lower body) were unable to suit up after being injured in their semi-final win over Taggs Source for Sports.
The news quickly got worse for the blue-shirted bunch when defender Abbi Perreault went down in a collision early in the first half and had to be helped off with a thigh injury.
With the odds quickly mounting against them, Boston Pizza dug in and held La Place Rendez-Vous scoreless until just moments before halftime when Seid arced a picture-perfect corner kick, which was headed home after a timely leap by Alyssa Holliday for a 1-0 lead.
“I just wanted to get the ball high enough to give us the opportunity for a header,” recalled Seid.
“When I saw it go in, it felt pretty good.”
The list of walking wounded for Boston Pizza increased in the opening minute of the second half. After keeper Amy Wilson-Hands stopped an initial shot, she sprawled to make a terrific save on the rebound—only to land on her right elbow awkwardly.
Wilson-Hands stayed down for several minutes, then got up and stayed in the game, though clearly favouring her elbow.
Boston Pizza didn’t fade and kept the pressure on the
Voyageurs, who lost one of their own when midfielder Celia Berry crumbled to the ground in agony in the 56th minute.
Berry, having missed three games earlier in the season with an injured left ankle, badly sprained the same right ankle that caused her to miss almost the entire season with the Muskies girls’ team back in 2011.
League scoring champ Laureen Peters then had a pair of close-in chances around the 65th minute for Boston Pizza.
She first got free at the top of the 18-yard box at the Voyageurs’ end before having her shot deflected over top of the net by a defender.
Moments later, Peters found herself alone at the side of the net but had her blast turned away by Amy Penner to preserve the eventual shutout for the Voyageurs’ keeper.
The backbreaker was delivered by Seid in the 75th minute—again via a corner kick. This time, the ball curled toward the net and glanced off the injured arm of Wilson-Hands into the net.
“My dad was on the sidelines telling me, ‘Curve the ball,’” chuckled Seid.
“I said, ‘I’ll try.’ And then I put it in.
“That’s the best goal I’ve ever had.”
“I don’t think we had any bad effects from the first goal,” noted Peters. “It was a gorgeous header and you can’t miss with that.
“But the second one definitely deflated our balloon,” she admitted.
The last 10 minutes was all Voyageurs, with Jess Caul converting a pass from Seid in the 83rd minute for a 3-0 advantage before Seid scored her second of the game on a breakaway after beating two defenders.
“BP played with a lot of heart and soul in that game, especially since they had no [substitutes],” stressed Seid, whose own team was able to rotate in a five-pack of rested bodies every time they needed to.
“It was a good battle.”
“It was a good run,” said Peters. “Injuries were the difference. We were down to almost nothing on our roster.
“We gave what we could. We just ran out of steam.”
The bronze-medal game the previous night (Aug. 14) was another war of attrition as an undermanned Al’s Racquet Stringing crew fell 4-2 to Taggs Source for Sports.
Taggs had one substitute on hand for the whole game. Al’s, meanwhile, started the game two players short, gained one later in the first half, and then went back down two after Carla Penner came out with a knee injury in the second half.
Courtney Roach, Sara Roach, Rebecca Selman, and Wynonna Kavanaugh scored for Taggs while Nina Barnard netted both goals for Al’s.
Following the gold-medal game, the year-end awards for the division were handed out.
Along with Hogan’s MVP honour and Peters getting the Golden Boot Award for her league-leading 30 goals, Boston Pizza also had Wilson-Hands (seven wins and four shutouts) selected as goalie of the year.
Erin Tomalty, of the title-winning Voyageurs, was chosen as rookie of the year while Elizabeth Morrisseau of Taggs Source for Sports was named defensive player of the year.
Morrisseau’s teammate, Heather Wright, received a double shot of good news—earning the Heart and Soul Award and co-winning the most sportsmanlike award with Carla Penner from Al’s.
