A bronze was not what they were aiming for, but upon closer inspection it was definitely something worth celebrating.
The Douglas College Royals women’s soccer team entered the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championships with big ambitions and a yearning to learn.
They filled their boots with both, as a top-three finish at the nationals was both a program first and the best showing for a PacWest B.C. team since 2013.
“I think what I was most proud of was mostly our character and how we responded to the challenge and adversity since Oct. 2,” noted Douglas coach Chris Laxton on the year. “Just the character we showed to bounce back after a tough (semifinal) loss.”
That bounce-back culminated in a 2-1 penalty kick victory over the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Ooks in the bronze medal match, where a huge save and some stealthy shooting sewed up the school’s first-ever women’s soccer medal.
Reminiscent of last year’s run, but this time, they got the bronze bundle.
“We had confidence in our group going into the shootout,” said Laxton. “It started with (goalkeeper
Alexa Gazzola) who made the first three saves. Other than missing our first shot, we were three-of-four and pretty happy to win our final game.”
Gazzola’s first stop, off CCAA player of the year Kassy Kajczay, set the tone for the remaining shots. Douglas, meanwhile, got tallies from Madison Hendry, Andrea Perrotta and Sonali Dholliwar.
Needless to say, there was plenty of sweat, toil and tears along the way.
Unlike last year, where Douglas was the B.C. champs but finished fourth, they entered the 2016 CCAAs as a wildcard entry.
They opened the tourney with a 2-1 win over that same Northern Alberta squad, only to fall the next day to Quebec’s Ahuntsic 1-0 on a late and controversial goal in the semifinal.
The marker came in the 85th minute and when it appeared one of Douglas’ defenders was interfered with.
Disappointed, the squad sagged a bit but regrouped in the bronze semifinal, erasing a 1-0 deficit on second-half markers from Mikayla Hamilton and captain Samantha Kell to top Grande Prairie 2-1, putting them in a rematch with the No. 3-seeded Ooks.
The glisten of the medal should continue for the club, which could possibly return all but a handful of players.
“There’s a lot of potential with this group and who is the returning core,” said Laxton. “We proved this year what we could do with new faces, new heroes... There is still more potential to come.”
Earning CCAA all-stars from the tournament were Gazzola and Dholliwar.
A midfielder at the start of the season, Dholliwar was shifted to fullback on Oct. 2, which coincided with the club’s seven-game winning streak.
“She was very versatile and when we made that move we went on a roll. (Dholliwar) is so smart, and she’s just a first-year player for us.”
