The New Westminster Hyacks ran up against some strong netminding Monday and were handed a 3-1 defeat by the Argyle Pipers in senior girls soccer play.
The game punched the North Van school’s ticket to the AAA provincial tournament.
The Hyacks gave up a quick goal but showed plenty of gumption in putting together some good runs and solid possession. When Argyle doubled its lead at the 11-minute mark and went up by three 15 minutes into the second half, New West was a tough spot.
The Hyacks continued to battle, with Abbey Flintoff’s beautiful shot from about 25 yards out making it 3-1. But the deficit was too much to overcome.
“It is always harder when you give up an early goal,” said coach Wayne McCarthy. “It throws your game plan for a loop. It is even harder when you’re missing players like we were.”
New West was without Manju Hoonjan, Brianne Lowka, Chloe Nottingham, Zoe Roberts and Jen Tamondong.
The squad still has a window to advance, depending on the result today (Thursday), 3 p.m. at Queen’s Park against Handsworth.
A week ago, New West collected the District title with a 3-1 victory over the Burnaby Central Wildcats.
The Hyacks opened the scoring when Grade 10 Georgia Brydon tallied late in the first half. While Burnaby Central replied with a goal in the early minutes of the second half, New West pushed back and regained the lead when Grade 9 Nisa Reehal buried one.
To complete the scoring, Flintoff topped up the lead and put the Wildcats in a two-goal hole, where the game stayed.
The road to the final saw Reehal count three goals in a 4-2 doubling of Burnaby North in the semifinal, with Brydon adding a single. The Wildcats clipped Alpha 3-1 in their semifinal.
The Hyacks topped the regular season standings with a 3-1-0 record.
