The Sarnia Girls competed in the St. Thomas tournament over the weekend of July 25-26 in wet, sloppy conditions and had a very successful finish.

 

     In their first game vs. Delko Brydge, Sarnia dominated play the entire game. The team showed much better passing and team communication, and displayed a marked improvement in skill and comfort level. Lipine Parsons and Kier Mackay were strong up the middle, with Lipine having several aggressive runs and Kier battling hard to clear up some space. Sarnia had many great goal chances, and the Delko keeper had to play a fantastic game just to keep her team in it. Katie Brandon-Wheeler confounded the opposition with the use of her head, both on throw-ins and goal kicks, and Alyxandra Wilcox had several great runs and attempts on the left side. On the defensive end of the field, Amy McCormick played very hard and never stopped moving and Lisa Harris had a large number of long zone clearances. Although she was not called on frequently, Naomi Parsons had an outstanding aggressive game in goal, and Sarnia walked away with a 2-0 win.

      In their second game of the day (and tournament), and with their confidence riding high, Sarnia played an evenly matched St. Thomas side. The game was a see-saw battle with both teams running and pushing the ball aggressively and attempting to establish themselves. The score could easily have been 2 or 3-0 for either team, but the goalkeepers-especially Naomi Parsons who made several saves of the spectacular variety-kept things tight. The second half began 0-0, with Modupe Obiri having an excellent chance in close, and St. Thomas turning around and converting on a mis-cue for a 1-0 lead. Sarnia won many of the battles in the second half, but could not get one in the net, until a late game hand ball by St. Thomas in the penalty area allowed Naomi Parsons to step up and drill a penalty kick off the cross bar and in to tie and finish the game 1-1.

 

     With the beginning of the third game, Sarnia had found out they had finished first overall in their age division, received a bye in the quarter-finals, and faced off against s strong Fort Erie team in the semi-finals. Once again the conditions were less than ideal, with several rain and lightning delays resulting in terrible field conditions. Both teams spent the first half trying to adjust to the field and each other, and Fort Erie did not give up many chances. Naomi Parsons continued her great play in goal, and Lauren Wilson had a great run up the middle at the end of the first half for a strong chance, but the score remained 0-0.

     The second half began with the Fort Erie contingent of parents becoming quite rude and obnoxious, bringing a referee reprimand. The Sarnia team came on strong with several brilliant attempts, but none finding the back of the net. Bea Mendoza played an excellent positional game on defence, clearing many balls out of harm’s way, but the poor conditions proved to be Sarnia’s downfall, with a sloppy, misplayed corner kick near the end of the game caroming and bouncing off of several players and ending up in Sarnia’s goal, giving Fort Erie a 1-0 win. With this, Sarnia ended the tournament in third place and a great run in St. Thomas.