Whether at full strength or a man down, the New Westminster Hyacks senior girls soccer team has staked its claim as the team to beat in the Burnaby-New West League going forward.
On the heels of last week’s decisive 8-3 victory over the Alpha Aztecs, where New West played the full game with just 10 players, the squad is preparing for the real big test – a playoff run. That run, which starts next week, will determine if they advance to the provincial AAA championship tournament May 31 to June 3 in Burnaby.
The Hyacks got stellar contributions from juniors Nisa Reehal and Christine Singh in the win over Alpha, with each having a hand in on four goals. Reehal intercepted a pass in the first minute, drove down the right side and sent a perfect cross to Grade 12 Abbey Flintoff that the senior buried for the opening tally.
By the 30th minute, New West stood up 4-0, thanks to goals from Reehal and two by Singh. A few minutes later, Singh completed the hat trick on a laser-like blast.
In the second half, Reehal struck quickly again, this time feeding Jamie Lee to up the lead to 6-0.
While Alpha came into the second half with a stronger focus, capitalizing on the Hyacks’ shorthanded situation to put three balls behind Julianne Ritson, the lead was never threatened.
Flintoff, off a breakaway, and Grade 11 Sarah Forgie, who was instrumental in setting up a couple earlier tallies, rounded off the scoring.
On defence, Ellery Hardy, Jordan Liebelt, Alysia Moysiuk and Grade 9 Sonia Saria were diligent in stemming any shift in momentum.
At a perfect 5-0, New West has had to dribble through a rash of injuries and unavailable players to get to this point. But with the Burnaby-New West league in disarray, with Cariboo Hill folding midway through the year to leave only three teams, the opportunities to hone their game for the critical playoff charge in May have been limited.
As provincial tourney hosts, Burnaby North gets an automatic berth to the championship. New West will need to prevail in a showdown with the North Shore champion, to earn its berth.
