Royal City soccer club New West Barcelona had a successful weekend at the GirlsCan Western Canada Showcase soccer tournament over the Easter weekend.
Barcelona compiled a record of two wins, one tie and one loss against predominantly older opposition.
Barca got off to a successful start as they beat Edmonton-Victoria (from Edmonton) 3-2 on two goals by Rachel Hutchinson and a single by Madison Savoie. After falling behind early, the New West side took control of the game and found the back of the Edmonton-Victoria goal three times before giving up a late marker to make the score look closer than it really was.
A very early Saturday morning schedule saw NW Barca kick off against Calgary's SWU Alliance - a team that featured a dozen Grade 12 players who already had Canadian university scholarships in place for September.
The Calgary side played strong possession football and Barca was challenged to win possession away from such a skilled opponent. Undeterred, the Barca side that is comprised solely of Grade 10 students, competed intensely and were the first to get on the scoreboard.
A missed clearance on an attacking run by Hutchinson deflected to Raquel Tjernagel, who put the New West side up 1-0. With Barca gaining confidence, possession alternated back and forth between Alliance and Barca. Pressuring, the Calgary side knotted the score and the final 30 minutes were played in mid-field with both sides knocking the ball around and each side having a few quality chances.
Ally Fabian, Zoe Loewen and Sarah Ng all played solid confident football for Barca. Unfortunately with the seconds dying, Barca gave up a penalty kick that was buried by the Alliance shooter to seal the 2-1 victory for Calgary.
Barca's second game on Saturday was against an under-18 opponent from Kamloops. The New West girls seemed to be brimming with confidence and they moved the ball effortlessly around the pitch, while the Kamloops side tried to win possession.
With Hutchinson finishing off a blazing run and burying her shot, and Celeste Bain taking advantage of her precision shooting at distance, the Barca side sat comfortably up 2-0 at the half. Juggling the roster and moving players into some unfamiliar positions, NW Barca continued to pass, move and maintain possession in the second half, while closing the door on any Kamloops scoring opportunities.
Miki Knowler, Juliet Davies, Alessia Mastromonaco and Arsh Kaler all played outstanding games for Barca as did Olivia Alexis who earned the shutout between the pipes.
Easter Sunday saw Barca play their final game of the tournament against Edmonton Juventus. Without doubt, the game was NW Barcelona's finest game of the tournament despite the result being a scoreless draw. Hutchinson, fed by Juliet Davies from the back line, had three glorious opportunities in the first five minutes but unfortunately was unable to find the back of the net. Moving the ball swiftly and with pace and precision, Ellen Williams, Montana Wegner and Naomi Noda all contributed to ensuring that Barca stayed true to their Spanish namesake's style. At the conclusion of the match both opposition parents and referees all commented positively on the beautiful and skillful way that NW Barcelona played the game.
