Sports
October 16, 2008 10:04 PM
By: John Cudmore
Satisfaction is winning the final game of the season.
For that reason, it was something of a fitting ending for the Newmarket United girls under-14 soccer team even if it was the celebration of bronze and not gold medals at the BMO national club soccer championships Monday in Charlottetown, PEI.
Despite falling short in its quest for a national title, the Newmarket squad blasted New Brunswick 8-0 to make the journey home more satisfying.
The win offered consolation in the face of a disappointing 3-2 loss to British Columbia to close out pool play in the 10-team tournament, relegating Newmarket to playing for third place.
The loss to the eventual gold medal winners from BC left Newmarket with a 3-1 record and second place in pool play. The tournament format sends pool winners to the gold medal game. Runnersup battled for bronze.
“We were hoping to be a little higher, but maybe it is better the way it ended,” said head coach Bill Connery, whose team qualified for the national championships by winning its second consecutive Ontario Cup title earlier in the season.
“We ended on a high, everyone feels great and everyone got to play.
In becoming the first Newmarket Soccer Club team to claim a medal at the national championships, United outscored its opponents 24-3 in five games.
In the bronze medal game, Kandyce Whitehead notched a hat trick to run her five-game total to a team-leading eight goals. Cassandra Briscoe chipped in with two goals as Ashley Campbell, Shannon Russell and LaShaunna Harper added single markers.
Harper finished the tournament with six goals.
“The best part of it all was meeting kids from other provinces,” said Connery, who is stepping down as head coach of the team for which he has served since the players were eight-year-olds.
“They made friends with people from areas of Canada they may never have the chance to meet again. And they had to learn to live together. It was about life lessons. The overall learning experience was greater than the soccer.”