The senior Hyacks girls’ soccer team came out even during regular season play last week.
On April 14, the New Westminster secondary team was at home taking on league leaders Burnaby North who had defeated Burnaby Central 6-0 the week before. After two early points for the visiting Vikings, Celeste Bain started off the second half with a low shot past the Burnaby goalie off a pass from Hyacks teammate Juliette Davies to make it 2-1.
But that wasn’t enough, said head coach Wayne McCarthy.
“Our defenders fell asleep after that and allowed a quick break and shot in from the right side of the pitch, which eluded our keeper,” McCarthy wrote in an email. “We had a decent amount of possession, and were the stronger team in the second half, but North’s keeper and back line made getting a shot on goal very difficult.”
The senior Hyacks finished the game losing 3-1 to the visiting Burnaby team.
On Thursday, the Hyacks were back on the pitch, this time in Burnaby taking on Alpha secondary.
Unlike the previous game, the Hyack girls dominated the field against Alpha who was short players. Junior Hyack Mariella Rameriz scored the first goal off a rebound from Davies and so it began. The Hyacks went on to score another two goals before the end of the game, including one off a corner kick by Bain.
In the second half, the Alpha seniors attempted a short-lived comeback and managed to put one past Hyack goaltender Simran Dhillon. That would be Alpha’s second and final shot on net.
Later on, Grade 11 Hyack Jen Tamondong was cut down midfield by a Burnaby defender. She suffered a badly sprained knee and was taken to hospital. During that play, the ball rolled free and Davies was able to pick it up and score a third goal for the Hyacks.
The Hyacks left the field with a 3-1 win over the Alpha team.
Despite the win, the Hyacks have had their fair of challenges this season, according to McCarthy.
“We’ve been playing with a minimum of three juniors every game. They’re doing well, but it has been difficult without our full complement of top level seniors,” he wrote.
The senior girls are tied with Alpha secondary for second place in the league so far with two wins, one tie and a loss.
On Tuesday, April 21, the Hyacks were scheduled to take on Burnaby Central after press deadlines. Central is ranked last in the league after losing its first four games this season.
