Mike Barrett
Newmarket United’s Kandyce Whitehead (left) goes toe to toe with Pickering’s Taylor Potts in the U-14 Girls Ontario Cup final Saturday in Woodbridge. Newmarket won the match 2-1 to capture the championship for a second straight year.
Sports
September 09, 2008 02:23 PM
John Cudmore, Staff Writer
The Newmarket United under-14 girls soccer team produced the perfect encore.
LaShaunna Harper scored goals 10 minutes apart in the second half as Newmarket rallied to edge Pickering Power Pythons 2-1 Saturday and capture its second straight Ontario Cup championship at The Soccer Centre in Vaughan.
“It wasn't easy,” said head coach Bill Connery. “It's tough enough to win the first time but to repeat it is an even greater accomplishment. It's tough at this level no matter who you're playing. They're all ready to knock you off.”
Newmarket spotted Pickering a 1-0 lead early in the second half before Harper connected for goals in the 69th and 79th minute.
Goalkeeper Lauren Cadel preserved the victory by thwarting a tying goal bid off a dangerous free kick.
Newmarket won the under-13 Ontario Cup title in 2007 as part of a triple crown season in which it also won the Central Girls Soccer League regular season and Cup titles and earned promotion to the Ontario Youth Soccer League.
The triumph sends Newmarket to the Canadian national club championships to be held Oct. 8 to 13 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Newmarket is also hoping to clinch the Ontario Youth Soccer League regular season title with a road victory over Burlington Heat Thursday night.